A Dragon's Memory
by EternityBlackRose
Summary: For the last few weeks, Cole's been having the same dream about a fire and a little girl. He doesn't understand what it means. But three girls who happen to be Sensei's old students do. And what happens when Kai and Zane start dreaming the same thing? Come along on a ride filled with magic, mystery, and excitement. ColeXOC, KaiXOC, ZaneXOC, JayXNya
1. Nightmare on the Bounty

' _Please.' The little girl signed, fear all over her face. 'Don't do this. If you do you won't come back.'_

 _"You know as well as I do I cannot turn down a challenge." He replied, zipping up his bag. "I'll return in three days. By then, everything will be settled."_

 _'You and I both know it will not-'_

 _"I said I'll be back." He said heading for the door. "And I won't return a day later."_

 _As he walked out the door, he looked back at her sad eyes begging him to stay. He normally couldn't fight those eyes, but today was different. He left without another word to her._

 _Screams came from behind him; he looked back to see his home in flames. She was in danger. Before he could rush in to help, a pair of shadow hands grabbed him; pulling him farther into the darkness. He could hear their screams; HER screams_

 _"Let me go!" He shouted, struggling to get free. "I have to save her!"_

 _"For what?" The shadow asked, pulling him further away. "You left her. You are free to do as you wish. Why not keep running?"_

 _"Not I won't!" He yelled, pulling harder. "I'm not gonna lose her! I'm not gonna lose Tallie!"_

****

"Tallie!" Cole yelled, sitting up in bed.

"Wha-ahh!" Jay yelled as he fell from his top bunk.

"Huh? What?" Kai asked, sitting up. "What's going on?"

"It appears Cole was having a nightmare." Zane stated getting up from his bunk. "Though, my memory banks don't have any recollection of you ever telling us of a 'Tallie.'

"I never did." Cole stated, swinging his legs over the side. "I don't know who she is."

"Whoa time out." Jay said, getting up. "You're having dreams about some girl you don't know?"

Cole sighed. "They started after that whole deal with Chen. Bits and piece mostly."

"Well, what did you see?"

"A girl. She can't be any more than 3 or 4 year old. She uses sign-language to talk to me; to tell me not to go. But I don't listen to her." He looks at his hands sadly. "When I turn around, her home's on fire. Screams can be heard from all over the place. When I try to help, I get pulled back. And just when I'm about to reach the main part of the blaze, I wake up."

The other ninja looked at eachother in various stages of shock. Their brother had been going through this for so long and he never said anything?

"Well I'm not a nindroid like Zane," Kai said, jumping down from his bunk. "But I think 'Tallie' is the little girl trying to get you to stay."

"That seems most logical." Zane stated. "We should discuss this with Sensei in the morning."

"Yeah, that sounds like the best idea." Jay said through a yawn.

As they all got settled, Cole couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something was going to happen. Something big.


	2. Telling Sensei and Unexpected Guests

Dawn arrived over the Bounty; sunlight poured in through the shades. It was calm, peaceful. That is, until the alarm clock went off.

"Wha-ah!" Jay had fallen once more. "Not again!"

"Relax Jay." said Kai, getting up to hit the alarm. "It's not Cole this time."

"Well gee, that makes me feel SO much better." The blue ninja replied sarcastically getting up from the ground. "Anymore dreams Cole?"

"…"

"Uh…Cole? You there bud?"

"Huh? What?" the black ninja snapped back into reality. "Sorry guys. I just can't focus this morning."

"It could be the fact that you are dreaming of a child you never met and that you let her down." Zane said sitting up. "Or it could be the fact that you are unsure of how to explain this to Sensei as you do not know what the child means to you and the future of Ninjago."

"…Yeah, that doesn't help Zane."

"Was it supposed to?"

"Either way we better hurry." The red ninja stated, putting on his gi. "Sunrise Exercise starts in a matter of minutes."

"You're right." Cole stated, grabbing his gi. "I'll talk to him after practice."

"Talk to me about what?"

None of the ninja had noticed that their teacher and their once student were standing in the doorway staring at them. They looked at eachother and nodded. Cole stepped forward.

"I had a weird dream last night Sensei."

"Define weird?" the old man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I would prefer to discuss this with you in private."

The old man looked at him sternly. It wasn't often that one of his pupils wanted to talk to him alone. But when they did, it was due to something troubling them.

"Very well." The old man stated, turning towards the door. "The rest of you head outside for Sunrise Exercise. Lloyd will lead you today. Cole, meet me in my quarters in five minutes."

The other ninja groaned and bemoaned at the thought of the exercises they'd be put through. Though Lloyd wasn't evil, he still acted like it from time to time. This time would be no exception. Cole hurriedly got dressed and walked down to Sensei's room. It was simple. A mat, a table, and of course a place to make tea. The spinjtsu master sat at the table, pouring tea into two cups.

"So tell me Cole," Wu said as his student sat down. "What did you dream?"

"I was another man Sensei," Cole began, staring at his tea. "I was protecting a child; a girl that couldn't have been any more than three or four years old."

"What did the girl look like?"

"I'm not sure. I've forgotten her face. But I do know that she had an unusual eye color."

"I see." The old man sat back. "Continue."

"I'm packing a bag to go somewhere. She's using sign language- which I understood perfectly- to tell me not to go. But I don't listen." He paused to take a drink. "I walk out the door without so much as a good-bye to her."

"Seems like a normal dream so far."

"It seems that way…until I turn back and the whole place is on fire."

The spinjitsu master's eyes widened. "What happened to the child?"

"I dunno." Cole stated as his head hit the table. "As I'm running back a shadow grabs hold of me, telling me to get back on the path; forget the girl. But I won't. The last thing I remember is screaming out her name. Tallie."

"…you were wise to talk to me about this." Wu said standing up. "Most likely you are tapping in to someone's memories. Memories from long ago."

"But whose are they?" the black ninja asked, getting to his feet. "And why do I-"

"Attention everyone!" Nya's voice came from over the loud speaker. "We've got two intruders on the main deck!"

****

"Ya know, this is not my idea of a fun sunrise exercise."

Jay was right. While none of them were looking, two black ninjas had snuck aboard. One possessing shurikens, the other a pair of swords. Both had a harsh glare in their eyes, as if they were mad at the ninja for something.

They were experienced fighters whoever they were. The one with the swords was a good defenser while his shuriken buddy had the boys on the ropes with each toss of his blades.

"Well, Sensei DID want us in shape." Kai said, deflecting his rival's sword.

"Yes." Zane replied, dodging another shuriken. "But I would prefer not to be in pieces of my usually shape."

"Oh, very funny." Jay replied. "Now how about you guys get me and Lloyd down from the mast!"

"A little…busy right now!"

"This is pointless." The sword wielder said in a feminine voice. "Can't we just be done with them?!"

"I don't see why not." The shuriken wielder said, grabbing a rope from the deck. "Catch!"

Before the red or titanium ninja could blink, the two black ninja roped them and hung them from the mast. The two high-fived quickly and got back into battle position. They knew one more ninja was still on board. Not to mention the samurai.

"Do you think the others know we're here?"

"Most likely." The shurikens started to shake. "Be ready."

"Too late for that." A male voice said.

Before either could turn, a scythe pulled them in close for a punch. Both were out before they could make a move.

"It's about time!" yelled Jay as the ropes began swinging back and forth. "Now hurry and cut us down!"

'That was too easy.' thought Cole as he went to cut his brothers down. 'They barely put up a fight. Why is that?'

"Cole behind you!" yelled Kai a second too late.

As the master of earth reached for his scythe, another black ninja tackled him to the ground. They began rolling and punching at eachother, only to have their moves blocked by the other. When Cole finally pinned the other down, he took off his opponent's mask. He was startled by what he saw.

The girl couldn't be more than eighteen. Her hair was the color of golden sunshine, her skin fair, and her eyes were as red as the blood pounding in his head. Anger lit up her eyes, making them seem like they were on fire. She kicked him in the stomach, making him get off of her. And just as she was going in for the final blow…

"Enough!" Wu yelled from the top of the staircase. His gaze met the girl's and the other two as they sat up. "That is not proper attire for any of you. Change immediately."

"Yes Sensei." The three attackers said, bowing their heads.

Immediately the shadows swallowed them whole, leaving three big orbs standing where the girls were. 

"Wha-"

"No way."

"This is highly illogical."

"Uncle, who are they?" Lloyd asked as Cole let them down.

"These three are some of my old students." Wu stated as he climbed down. "Had I know they were coming, I would've had you all made the guest room up."

"Whoa whoa time out." said Kai waving his arms about. "You taught them? When?"

"They were very young at the time. I'm surprised they still do as good as they do. Here let me introduce you." He stepped in front of the first orb. "This is Kylina Corazana Sohma. A sword master in her own right, and the master of the Dark Flame."

The orb faded away, revealing a girl with orange shoulder-length hair in high ponytail, tan skin, and red eyes. She wore a red hoodie with black flames on the sleeves, red fingerless gloves, black jeans, and black and red sneakers. Two swords hung from her belt. Her stare was calm.

"It's nice to meet you." she said, bowing a bit.

"Next we have Soulika Alessandra Evans." Wu stated going over to another orb. "She tends be moody like her mother at times." He quickly dodged a punch that came from inside the orb.

"Who you callin' moody old man?" the girl asked. She had short boy cut snow white hair and red eyes. Her skin was dark like Kylina's but a bit lighter. She wore a white sports jacket, a black t-shirt with a skull on it, white fingerless gloves, black jeans with snowflakes on the bottoms, and a pair of white and black boots. Holding her bangs back was a clip with a picture of a mouth and the word 'EATER' on it. "Don't make me take your soul."

"Now now Soulika, he's just teasing." A voice said from the final orb as it opened. It had been the girl Cole was fighting with. Her tannish gold hair reached a bit past her shoulders. Her red eyes were covered by a pair of green shades. She also wore a black leather vest, a green t-shirt, black fingerless gloves, black short-shorts with green accents, and black knee high riding boots.

"Yeah well it still don't make it right." Soulika said, walking away.

"As I was saying," Wu began again. "Soulika is a master of shurikens and the master of the Dark Ice. Finally, we have Tallianne Amoré Redfox. A master of the scythe and the shadows."

"Call me Talynn." She said, pulling at one of her gloves. "Soulika's Soula, and Kylina's Kyna."

"Uh…cool." Lloyd said, a bit confused. "I'm-"

"We know who you are." Kyna said, jumping onto the side of the boat. "We're not stupid. We watch the news." She began pointing at each of them. "Lloyd Garmadon, Jay Walker, Zane Julien, Kai Smith, your sister Nya Smith, and Cole Brookstone."

"Huh, they're good." Kai said aloud.

"What brings you here?" Cole asked suspiciously.

The girls all looked at eachother before regrouping, kneeling down, and replying.

"We would ask that Wu becomes our teacher once more."

/

Okay, before anyone asks, yes I made up these names, yes I had the bounty rebuilt-it's not a Ninjago story without the bounty, and no I do not plan to bring back Garmadon-at least not at the moment.

That's all I have to say, so please comment and fav!


	3. Arguing and Settling In

"You'll do what?!"

"No way!"

"You cannot be serious!"

"Sensei, are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have never been more sure of anything in my life." The old man said as he sipped his tea. "I have known those three since they were small children. The only reason they would return is because something is wrong where they come from."

"And where DO they come from?" Jay asked accusingly.

"I cannot say. Only that it is beyond Ninjago."

"Yet another reason not to trust them." Kai stated, crossing his arms. "We don't know where they come from. For all we know they could come from the Dark Island."

"I can assure you that none of them are from there." Wu stated, starting to become angry. "Those girls would not attack an innocent. They may seem rough, but they are good girls down deep."

"I say we give 'em a chance."

They all turned to Cole who was staring out the window. His eyes were on the girls, who were hanging on the anchor below them. They seemed to be meditating, or sleeping depending on how you look at it.

"Are you nuts?!" Jay exclaimed making wild motions. "Those girls beat our butts!"

"Exactly." Cole said, finally looking at them. "And how well do you think a guy like Ronin could do against them?"

This gave the ninja something to think about. It had taken quite a bit to get the two to go down, and Talynn was just as determined when fighting Cole. Additions like them would be a good idea.

"So it's agreed." The black ninja said. "Who's going to tell them?"

****

"We thank you for this chance." Talynn said, bowing her head a bit. "It means a lot for us to do this."

"Yeah, just don't get too comfortable." Kai said. "If we think you guys are gonna do us harm, you're out."

"Relax Flame Brain." Kyna said, pulling at her bag. "We're not here to cause trouble."

"Sure didn't seem that way when you attacked us." Jay mumbled.

Nya elbowed him in the stomach. It had to be hard for the girls, seeing as they were in a whole new environment. They didn't know anybody besides Sensei Wu since they were kept at the monastery during their training. Even the Bounty would take some getting used to.

"So," Nya began as she opened the door. "This'll be your room. My room is next door and the boys and Sensei's are down the hall. Your room has a conjoining bathroom and whatever you need we can go buy later."

The room was plain except for a few flower designs on the walls. There were three beds; one facing the door, one below the window, and one hidden in the corner. Another door led to the bathroom. And beside each bed was a chest to put their things in.

"Not bad." Soula said looking around. "We allowed to decorate?"

"I don't see why not." Nya replied, unsure of what they would do.

"Smokin'." Kyna said as a black fire ball appearing in her hand. She went over to the bed facing the door and tossed the fire at it. In an instant, the bedspread and the wall began to fill with black and red flames.

"Honestly," Soula called an ice ball to appear in her hand as she set her stuff on the bed below the window. "Must you be so dramatic?"

As the ball hit the wall, white and black began spreading all along her section. Soon snowflakes began appearing all along the wall.

The ninja watched as the two used their powers to decorate. Only Talynn seemed to be doing it the old fashioned way.

"Uh…aren't you gonna use your powers?" Jay asked confused.

"Where's the fun in that?" Talynn asked, pulling the sheets over her bed. They were black with a green rose pattern design on them. "I find it more fun to do things myself then to rely on my powers or my weapons."

"Which is why you attacked me without your weapons." Cole said, coming to a conclusion. "You prefer hand to hand combat to anything else."

"Bingo." She said, grabbing a pencil from her bag. She began sketching on the wall what she wanted on there. "So, anything else we should know?"

"Actually yes." Zane said. "The kitchen is down the hall to the right. Every Wednesday we have Sunrise Exercise-"

"Which you guys interrupted." Said Kai.

"Anything else?" Talynn asked.

"Just that you be careful in the bridge above." Nya said. "A lot of delicate instruments."

"Got it."

"You're sure?"

"Yep."

"Okay…I don't know about you guys." Kai said walking towards the door. "But I'm gonna take a nap."

****

(Kai Dream P.O.V.)

 _"I still say that it's a bad idea for you to go." The little one said as I'm packing a bag. "Tallie said something bad's coming. And when Tallie senses-"_

 _"How many times do I have to tell you everything's going to be fine Ky?" I ask as I zip up the bag. "You and the others are gonna be fine. You're Blessed remember?" I ruffle up her hair quick. "Everything's gonna be fine."_

 _"But-"_

 _"I'll see you when I get back okay?"_

 _But I don't hear a reply. It's quiet. Too quiet. I turn back around to see the secret panel that leads to the front yard open. She knows not to use that._

 _I drop my bag and begin running. I hear her struggling down the hall; calling for me. Why can't I reach her?_

 _"Because you don't want to." A dark voice says. "You have very important work to do so she staged this to happen. So you wouldn't leave."_

 _"That's a lie. She wouldn't do this."_

 _"Oh really? Then why do you leave her then? Aren't you her protector?"_

 _The next thing I see is fire. It's consuming everything. It'll consume her._

 _"Ky!"_

****

"Ky!" Kai yelled as he sat up. His body was in a cold sweat; his hands shaking from what he saw. Was this what it was like for Cole when he saw Tallie? If so, he'd be in for a long ride.


	4. Darkness Within

(Talynn's P.O.V)

"Tal?"

"Hmm?" I looked away from my mural wall to see that Kyna and Soula had finished their sides of the room, leaving one wall bare. I was still in the designing stage. "What's up Kyna?"

"Why don't you just use your magic to finish your side?" she asked curiously. "I mean, it's so much simpler."

"Simple, maybe." I said, studying the wall. "But I think it's more fun to do it the old fashioned way."

Kyna rolled her eyes at me and began digging into her bag and putting her things in the chest. We hadn't brought that much, just enough to see us through for a while. We'd have to do some shopping later.

It'd been a bit since Soula had spoken, which made me curious. Soula never went so long without speaking her mind. I set my pencil down and went over to her as she stared at her laptop screen. I knew what she was looking at. I didn't even want to look. But I had to get her attention.

"Everything okay Soula?"

My white-haired kunoichi turned to face me with a startled face, exiting out of the photo. But it was too late; I'd seen the picture. Been reminded of the pain I held in my heart.

Soula, Kyna, and I had all lost our parents when we were very young-or at least I had. They both lost their mothers. I'd lost everything. Even my memories of them were gone. Don't get me wrong, I had a good childhood none the less. I got adopted by some great people. But it doesn't exactly help when all you really want is to remember the woman who gave birth to you, and the man who helped create you.

"Talynn." Soula had said, closing her laptop. "I was just-"

"I know." I reply, my voice low. I put my hand on her shoulder. "You have to let her go Soula. We can't move on if we don't-"

Soula shot up to her feet. "Well excuse me if I have memories of my mother! Excuse me if I'm not ready to toss her away like you so willingly did your parents!"

She stormed out the door, leaving me speechless and Kyna wide-eyed.

"She didn't mean that." Kyna said, approaching me slowly. "Soul's just upset. You know she says things she doesn't mean-"

"Did I really toss them away?" I asked, looking down at the floor. My fists clenched. "Did it seem that way to you?"

Kyna didn't reply. So that's what they both thought.

I could feel the darkness rising in me. The anger; the rage was over-flowing. I was losing control.

 **Kill them. They deserve it. They think you've abandoned your family.**

'But I haven't.' I think back. This…thing wasn't giving up. I collapsed to my knees. Kyna came up behind me. "Don't touch me!" I yelled, pushing her hand away. I can't hurt her.

 **But why not? You've hurt other people through me. Let me out. Just like you did this morning with the ninja. Remember the exhilaration of fighting the black one? We should do it again.**

'Shut up.'

 **Imagine it. You two are most likely the strongest, so the battle could last awhile. Your powers could be pushed to the limit.**

'I said shut up!'

 **But why? You know you want to use your powers. You're just afraid to face the consequences. You can't fight what you are. You're a-**

'SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!' I can't take anymore. I run out the door leaving a confused Kyna in my wake.

****

(Soula's P.O.V.)

"Now you've done it Evans." I mumble to myself, wandering the deck. "You've officially ticked off your leader, trapped up in the air with no way to get down, and you're also on a ship with people you barely know who could want revenge for what you did this morning."

"It seems like you have a lot of problems."

I turn on my heels, drawing my shuriken blades and tossing them. I was reaching for the Sais I had hidden in my jacket when I saw who it was.

It was the titanium ninja; Zane I think. His metal hand was holding my shurikens and his icy blue eyes glowing.

"Don't do that." I say, getting out of warrior position. "I tend to fire first, ask questions later."

"I've noticed." The titanium nindroid replied, handing me back my weapons. "You said something about upsetting your leader. I take it that your leader is Talynn?"

"What gave it away?"

"The way she spoke to the two of you. And the fact that you seem to listen when she speaks to you."

I rolled my eyes and leaned against the rail. It'd been a habit I'd picked up from my dad for whenever someone told me I listen and take orders. Don't get me wrong, I do. I just prefer to do things my way. And that's what gets me in trouble a lot.

"What did you say to Talynn that would upset her?" He asked, standing beside me. "From what I can tell, she's probably the most calm out of all of you."

"You'd think that." I replied, looking over the horizon. "But Talynn hides more than you think."

"I do not understand."

I sighed. Lord of all forgive me.

"When we were young-not sure how young anymore-there was a fire." I turned toward him, noticing he was staring at me. It…consumed everything. Our homes…Kyna's mom, my mom, and…Talynn's parents."

(Zane's P.O.V.)

I couldn't believe it. These girls had grown up without their mothers. Not only that, but Talynn had taken a harder hit, due to losing both mother and father.

"It must be hard for her." I said looking down at the floorboards.

"I guess." Soula replied, looking back towards the mountains on the horizon. "But she doesn't really remember. A hard hit to the head made her forget." She tugged off her jacket a bit and turned her back towards me. "Made us all forget."

She pulled up her shirt until I could see a burn mark on her back. It was old, the size of a pillar of wood. Carefully, I put my hand to it. She hissed, pulling her shirt down. It must've hurt quite a bit for that to be her reaction.

"Kyna and I got lucky." She said, pulling on her jacket. "We had our dad's to remind us of our past. Talynn had nobody since she was taken away after the fire to her adoptive family."

"Then how did you three reunite?" I asked, helping her ease the jacket onto her shoulders.

"We met back up when we were six at the monastery. Lived there for a bit, reunited, and set off for our home world, looking for other survivors as we go."

I looked closely at Soula's expression. You could see a bit of sorrow written on her face. But more so you could see determination. Just like before when they were fighting. Her blood red eyes became more of a ruby color, calming me a bit. Then something ran around the corner, startling both of us.

Talynn ran up to the rail, gripping it tightly as if it was a lifeline. Through my readings, I could see she was very distressed about something.

"Talynn?" Soula asked, reaching a hand out to her. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? What?" Talynn looked over her shoulder, her expression not very calm. "I…I'm fine Soula." She said tiredly. I just…need to be alone right now."

As she walked down the deck, I couldn't help but notice that she was flinching every few steps. But this did not appear to give Soula any fear. Instead, she grabbed my hand and led me below deck. As we walked down, another ran up. And it wasn't Kyna.


	5. Fighting Ones Insticts and Memory Lane

(Talynn's P.O.V.)

I hate when things like this happen. But more so, I hate myself.

Once I'd left Kyna back in our room, I'd practically run into every person on the ship. They gave me worried looks. But before they could ask what was wrong, I'd have already run off. I thought going above deck would quiet the voice in my head, but it only made it stronger.

I guess I should explain huh? Ever since I can remember, whenever I got mad, a voice would echo in my head; telling me what to do. When I was younger I'd listen to the voice; often doing as it wanted. But as I got older, I realized some of the things I'd done in the past were horrible. I tried to stop listening to it, but it was too strong. Especially now.

 **Quit fighting me child! It's time to except me again!**

'No way!' I thought back, clutching the railing tighter. 'You've gotten me in enough trouble! I don't need you wrecking my life again.'

 **I don't 'wreck your life.' You do that well enough on your own.**

'Lair!' I'm gripping even harder now, almost breaking the wood. 'You've done nothing but cause me trouble ever since you surfaced! Just who do you think you are?!'

 **Isn't that obvious? I'm you.**

My eyes widen; my breath shortens. ****

 **The darkest part of you any way. The part of yourself you locked away with your memories.**

'No.'

 **The one that remembers all about your poor widdle mommy and daddy issues.**

It's mocking me. I hate it when it mocks me.

 **What's the matter? Can't take the truth? Or do you just not wanna be reminded of the people you-**

"SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!" I can't use my thoughts anymore. I'm too angry. WAY too angry. Even the voice is startled by my outburst. "I'm not dark! I'm not evil!"

"Talynn?" A male voice asked behind me. "Talynn what's wrong?"

I turn to see the black ninja from earlier-Cole if I'm right. He's giving me a worried look; a look I try to avoid with all of my heart. I hated when people pitied me. It made me feel like a child again. A child lost in the dark. I'm also starting to think that that's when the voice surfaced.

 **You think?**

'Oh shut up you!' I thought back. "Nothing's wrong Cole." I replied, loosening my grip on the railing. "I…I'm just tired."

"Yeah, I heard that excuse when you sent Soula and Zane down below." He said, standing beside me. "And you can't hide the fact that you just yelled out you're not evil."

Tor re noch I'm so busted. He's still looking at me worried-like he knows something's wrong. But he doesn't. None of them do. No that's the voice talking again. If I just give people a chance…

 **They'll be afraid of you. They'll be disgusted by you.**

'Oh be quiet. Like you know anything about civilization.'

 **I know more than you think.**

'Well I'm done listening.' "There's…"I began, unsure of how to start. "There's actually something…wrong."

(Cole's P.O.V.)

I didn't know what to expect when I followed Talynn above deck. I honestly didn't. All I really hoped to do was make sure she didn't break anything. The only thing she'd come close to breaking was the rail. And to ask her what was wrong…well, that was out of my jurisdiction. But something told me to ask; a nagging voice in the back of my mind.

Her hesitant response about something being wrong had me worried. I couldn't see her eyes, but she seemed almost scared to tell me. She flinched and grabbed her head with her left hand, leaning on the railing with her right.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I say, worried I've upset her.

"No. No everything's fine." Talynn replied, moving her hand to her shoulder. "I'm…just a little air sick right now."

"You need to get back down to the ground?" I asked, watching her face for any other clues of what might be wrong. "I can have Nya-"

"No!" she yelled, gripping her arm tighter. "I…I just need to be on my own."

She ran up the deck to the main mast and began to climb until she reached the top. You'd think for someone with air sickness she'd want to be closer to the ground.

"I'd leave her be right now." A voice said behind me.

I jumped to see the redhead behind me. She'd changed out of her hoodie and had put on a red button down shirt with a loose collar. Everything else about her was the same.

"Tal doesn't play well with new people." Kyna said, grabbing a stick of gum from her pocket. "Never has."

"Ya know," I said, trying to lower my heart rate. "For someone who hasn't done the whole 'ninja' thing for awhile, you're pretty stealthy."

"So are you guys." She replied calmly. "That loudmouth friend of yours gave me a heart attack when I came out of our room to get Talynn. But now…that's gonna be a problem."

"She always act like this?" I asked, looking up to see if the tan-haired girl planned on coming down anytime soon.

"Just around new people." She said nonchalantly. "Honestly though, I haven't seen her act like this since…" she paused and looked out on the horizon, as if it held her answer. "Huh. I can't remember."

"So…she hasn't acted like this before?" I asked, confused at what she meant.

"No, she has." She said, walking towards the steps. "I just don't remember."

(Kyna's P.O.V.)

It's so weird. I know Tal's acted like that before, but I just don't remember when. Damn amnesia's messin' with my mind again. But then…isn't it always?

I touch my left shoulder carefully, feeling the burn of the pillar that had hit me once more. Soula and I had been so lucky with where it'd landed on us. But Tal…

Luck had never been on our side. We'd lost so much, and we're still trying to regain what was lost. But some things could never be replaced…like my mom.

I barely remember her smile or her laugh-which dad said I inherited from her. Everything I know about her was either told to me by my dad and her friends-whom I call my 'aunts' most of the time. I really wish I could remember her. But the one thing I wish I could remember, was the man that protected me.

I don't know why he's in what's left of my memories, but I know he saved me; saved all of us. When I came to though, he was gone. Just like most of my memories. Something had swept Talynn away too. I almost thought we'd never see her again.

Until that day…

Flashback

"But Dad I don't wanna learn spinhootsu!" six year-old me complained as she was dragged up the mountain.

"It's spinjitsu." Her father explained, barely looking down at his child. "And it's a necessary evil if you wanna master the Dark Flame."

"But DDDaaaddd." I whined.

"No more buts!" he yelled, getting impatient. "We're here."

I looked up from behind my messy bangs. The monastery was very big in my eyes. And it reminded me of something. I just didn't know what.

The door was opened by a man with a short white beard and kind brown eyes. I hid behind my dad's leg as the man reached out for her father's hand.

"It's been awhile Sohma-san." The man said, shaking my dad's hand.

"Too long Wu." He replied, pulling me from behind him. "This is my daughter Kylina. Kylina, this is Wu. An old friend of your mom."

I looked at the man curiously, and then ran inside; curious about everything here.

"Kylina come back here!"

"Let the child be." Wu said, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "If something calls her, let it continue until it is answered."

I didn't hear the rest of the conversation. Instead, I removed my sneakers and ran around inside, looking for what my heart called out for. It was when I reached the main room that I saw her.

She was my age, but a little taller. Her tan hair was pulled back into a ponytail; her eyes blindfolded with a black piece of cloth. A scythe rested in her hands. She immediately swung it at me, and I'd barely dodged it.

"Hey! Watch where you're swinging that thing!" I yelled, landing on a pillar.

"You watch it you little-" she paused; almost startled at my voice. "I know that voice." She mumbled, pulling of her blindfold.

The moment I saw her red eyes, it was like a bullet ran through my mind. I knew her and she knew me, we just didn't know why.

She reacted first; gripping her head and screaming. I followed soon after. The pain was so harsh; so unbearable. I felt like I was gonna burn up. But it was worth it when it stopped. Because as soon as it did, I knew where I'd seen her.

"Tallie!" I yelled, gripping her waist as I tackled her.

She laughed and wrapped her arms around me tightly. "I've missed you too Ky."

Flashback Ends

We've been inseparable since then, especially since we reunited with Soula. Sensei didn't understand how strong our bond was back then; still doesn't understand now. But that's okay. We just need to understand eachother.

"Hey Kyna." Soula said, walking towards me. "Talynn still on the mast?"

"Yep." I replied, blowing a bubble. "I'd get her down myself, but you know what happens."

"Believe me I do." She said walking upstairs. "Dinner's in an hour. Don't be late."

"That goes double for you Snowflake." I say, referring to her old nickname as she walked away.

****  
(Zane's Dream P.O.V.)

 _"Are you sure that this is the only way?" the child asks as I put another set of clothing in my bag. "I mean, Papa handles things like this with violence. But aren't you the one who's always telling me that violence isn't the answer?"_

 _I chuckled at her words. "Believe me child, I do not wish to fight." I zip up the bag and put it over my shoulder, noticing that it is human skin and not metal. "But it is a necessary evil I must do to protect you."_

 _I rub her cheek gently, watching as her face calms and her worries disappear. She knows I'll return at a moment's notice if something goes wrong._

 _Then everything goes dark._

 _I hear her screaming for me; her fear giving me energy to run after the light that's left in the darkness._

 _"What's the point in doing this?" A dark voice asks. "You're not going to reach her in time."_

 _"That's what you think." I reply, getting another burst of speed._

 _"No, that's what I know." The voice replied darkly as flames rose around me. "Because I'll burn her before you can reach her."_

 _"No, Snowflake!"_

****

"Snowflake!" I yell, sitting up on the couch.

I look around, seeing that I'm in the game room with Lloyd and Jay playing a game. Or rather, they were until I woke up.

"You okay Zane?" Lloyd asks, pausing the game.

"Yes. I'm all right" I reply, not quite meeting his eyes.

"You sure?" Jay asks. "Cuz that kinda sounded like Cole last night with his dream."

"Dream?" Lloyd asked confused.

"I assure you it is nothing." I say going towards the door. "Now if you'll excuse me. I have a dinner to prepare."

As I leave, I can't shake the feeling in the pit of my stomach-or where my stomach would be if I was human. I have no idea what to make of the dream, but I have a feeling the answer will come sooner or later.

/

All right chapter 5! Sorry it's taking so long, but I have limited access to a computer at the moment, seeing as the one at home is full of viruses and I can only access the internet through my kindle. Anyway, I'll post as soon as I can. Just be patient. Also, anyone notice that the names 'Tallie', 'Ky', and 'Snowflake' keep popping up? If you've made the connections, great! If not, you will soon enough.

Gotta go now! Buh-bye!


	6. Finding Peace

(Talynn's P.O.V.)

'Mother Luna forgive me,  
Father Sol do not forsake me,  
Lady Terra protect me,  
Lord Heaven surround me,  
Blessed is your way and your light.'

I repeat the mantra over and over in my mind. I don't know why, but it calms the voice in my head. Ergo, it calms me as well. It is one of the few things I remember learning as a toddler. But from where I can't be certain.

I hear a noise coming from below me, making me look down. Soula's standing by the mast looking straight up at me. I don't even have to see her face to know what she's thinking. Her shadow says it all. She's worried about me. And I can understand why.

For the last few years, I'd been on and off medications for my health. Sometimes I'd have trouble breathing or even black out. And a few weeks ago, I almost killed myself by overdosing one of my medications.

Soula and Kyna stopped me before I did it though. In a way, I can't forgive them. All I wanted back then was to die, to not live through the pain anymore. But…in the end, I can't thank them enough. Because if they didn't, their depressions would probably be worse than they are.

You think we're rough 'n tough? You couldn't be more wrong. Part of it is an act, the rest is anger. Kyna deals with it by cutting at her wrists, making her wear long sleeves almost all the time. Soula…she hardly eats, which is why most clothes are baggy on her. This is who we've become since we left our sensei. Hopefully though, with his guidance, we can be who we once were again.

We can find peace again.

I jump down to the ground, almost scaring my white Kunoichi, who has seemed to change into my silver one with her silver jacket hanging on her shoulders.

"Don't do that!" Soula yelled, rushing to my side. "You know your heart can't take things like that very often. And with this morning's-"

"I'm sorry." I said, getting to my feet shakily. "For earlier. I just…"

"You don't have to say anything." she said, coming to my side. She gripped my shoulder as if I were a china doll. "I understand. And I'm sorry too. For saying you tossed your family aside. You'd never do that."

"Well…" I stood next to the rail for a minute before heading to the stairs. "You know how you could make it up to me?"

"How?" she asked, giving me a skeptical look.

"By actually eating something tonight."

She glares at me.

"No picking at your food, no giving it to me or Kyna. Just you eating."

"…"

"Please Snowflake." I say, using the nickname as a last resort. "You saved my life, let me save yours and Kyna's."

(Soula's P.O.V.)

I can't help but smile a bit at her determination.

"This isn't the Talynn I knew a few weeks ago." I say, following her down the steps. "The one I knew was tired of life. In fact she wished to leave life."

Talynn laughed a little. "That I most definitely apologize for. How about a deal?" she pulls down her shades a bit so we can both see each other's eyes. "You actually eat something tonight, and I won't put up a fight when it's time for medicine deal?"

I laugh too. "Deal."

****

Dinner wasn't anything I'd expected it to be.

For one thing, it was loud. Mostly due to Jay and Kai, who seemed sort of out of it. Even Kyna was getting in on their conversation, which was kind of strange since she doesn't usually talk to people on the first day. But then, we were with Sensei again were we not? So of course she'd be more comfortable. Talynn seemed to be doing fine as well, engaging in a conversation between Nya, Lloyd, and Cole. Sensei, Zane, and myself were the only ones who were quiet.

Speaking of the nindroid, he seemed distracted. Almost as if something was haunting him.

"Is everything all right Zane?" I ask, looking at him carefully. "You seem sort of out of it."

"What?" He said, startled almost.

"I asked if you were all right." I said, feeling a pulse of anger come from inside of me.

"I…yes." He said, not meeting my eye. "I'm all right." He looks down at my plate. "What about you? Is the food not to your liking?"

I look down to see that I've barely touched my meal. Dang it!

"No, it's nothing." I say, grabbing a forkful of food. "I..I'm just distracted by everyone."

(Zane's P.O.V.)

Soula's words caught me a bit off guard, which is quite peculiar since my sixth sense usually warns me when something like this happens. But it seems Soula can sneak right through it. And the fact that she isn't eating helps her. I cannot seem to shake the dream I had though.

The child; Snowflake. She seems to set something off when I think about her, but I cannot figure out what. Soula seems to set the feeling off as well when I notice she is not eating. In fact, all the girls set off a bit of this feeling.

Talynn sets it off when her breathing pattern becomes erratic for a moment, and Kyna sets it off when I catch a faint scar mark on her wrist. But Soula…most of it comes from her. Though she hides it well, I can tell she is malnourished. Why she hides it, I may never know. But I intend to find out.

"This is really good." She says, munching a bit of her food. " Where'd you learn to cook Zane?"

I stare at her. "I'm not quite certain. I may have picked it up somewhere."

She smiled, her eyes turning brighter. "Well, wherever you learned, it's good."

(Sensei Wu's P.O.V.)

I cannot help but smile as I see the girls I'd trained so many years ago returned to me. Nya and the girls hit it off well, but it will take some time with the boys. Though, I cannot help but wonder if their return has anything to do with Cole's dream. Not to mention Kai's and Zane's. Though they had not told me, I knew. And I can't help but wonder what fate has in store for them all.


	7. First Night Confessions

(Cole's P.O.V.)

I'll have to admit, like the others…I was a bit thrown off by the girls' sudden appearance-not to mention Talynn's over-reaction to something. But once I got to know them a bit at the dinner table, I could see that they fit well together.

Each of the girls had lost family members-or in Talynn's case, a whole family- sometime between their second and third birthdays. They weren't really sure since it was so long ago. After that happened, Talynn had gone off with someone who took her to her adoptive family, where she stayed until Sensei found her and her powers. She was brought back to the monastery where she was later reunited with her friends.

As they got older, they began to do more…artistic things. Kyna appeared to have a bit of a way with words. She could make anything seem like it really happened-which it did, according to Talynn.

Soula was a bit of a photographer, as she showed us some of her work after dinner. Some of her earlier pictures were a bit hazy, but they got more…how did Nya put it? Oh yeah, colorful. But I think the ones that were the best were either the ones she took in spring or winter.

Talynn's gift seemed to be sketching. Seriously, that girl is fast. While Lloyd was doing some katas, Talynn's pencil hardly stopped moving. It was like her hand had a mind of its own. She hadn't even noticed what she was doing until Kyna pointed it out.

"Tal?"

"Hmm?"

"You're doing it again." The red-head said, watching the pencil move at lightning speed.

"What?" She looked down. "Oh, génial, pas encore.

"Uh…what?" Jay asked confused at what she said.

"It's French Jay." Soula said, looking through her photos. "Talynn's known that since we were old enough to speak."

"Yeah it's kinda a…secondary language." Kyna said, picking up a videogame controller.

"One that I hate slipping into." Talynn stated, looking at her drawing. "It's one habit I could never break. Well, one of many."

I looked over her shoulder a bit to see her work. She had an eye for detail, that's for sure.

"Not bad." I told her, almost making her jump. For a second or so I saw the red eyes I'd seen earlier today. But they were different. They were calm, almost turning black.

"Thanks." She said, getting to her feet. "I'm gonna turn in. Later."

As she walked away, I noticed that her steps were a bit wobbly. I wasn't sure, but I don't think it was from the ship moving. I'd have to keep an eye on her.

(Talynn's P.O.V.)

I can't believe I slipped into my drawing zone again. I mean, sure in our room it would've been okay, but in front of complete strangers? That's another story. Especially so late at night. I just sat on my bed for awhile, not even wanting to pick up by pencil and sketch more onto the wall. We had training in the morning, so I got ready for bed instead.

"Come on Talynn, a deal's a deal." Soula says as I'm pulling on my pajama top. She's holding a cup full of my medicine. Multi-colored pills and needles. Oh joy.

"I can't believe you agreed to do this without fighting." Kyna said, closing the door. "I mean, we usually have to hold you down just to get you to take one pill. Now you're not even gonna fight?"

"I know it's crazy." I tell her as Soula preps my arm for a needle. "But a deal's a deal." She looks at me coldly. "And don't think I didn't see you cut yourself earlier Kylina Corazana Elisa Sohma."

She stood stock still as I took the needle, as if she was feeling my pain. But I didn't scream. I only stared at her, which without my specs wasn't very hard.

"You don't know anything." Kyna said, sitting down on her red comforter.

"Oh no?" I asked. "Kyna, we've been over this. We've each suffered in some way, but we have to face the hurdles if we're ever to reach our-"

"Our true potential. I know I know. But it doesn't help." She digs through her bag until she finds what she's looking for, then tosses it to the ground. "It won't bring them back!"

As I look at what she tossed, I can see for once we aren't talking about our mothers and my father.

We were talking about the ones who saved us from the fire. Our protectors; our dragons.

(Normal P.O.V.)

The girls didn't talk anymore that night. Instead, they fell straight into dreams. Well, almost all of them did. Talynn was still awake when it reached one in the morning. No matter what she did, her mind wouldn't shut off.

There were often nights like this; nights that she often just walked about and prayed for sleep. But this was a new environment, she couldn't just walk about she'd wake someone. Sighing, she got up from her bed and put on a thin hoodie jacket and sweatpants, thinking maybe the night air would do her good. She didn't realize that she wasn't the only one awake.

Cole lay awake on his bed, thinking the day over. It'd been an interesting one that's for sure. Three new members of their little group in one day-and right after his dream about the little one? Was that just a coincidence? And now Kai and Zane had had dreams of little ones as well. That had to mean something right?

He groaned as he sat up. It was too much for one night, he'd never get to sleep. Then he heard movement in the hall. He grabbed a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans and quickly pulled them on. When he looked out, he saw Talynn headed up stairs.

'What's she doing up?' he thought as he sneaked over to the staircase. 'She was the first one to turn in. Why would she be awake?'

As he got to the main deck, he could see Talynn looking over the side, holding something tightly in her hands. He couldn't make it out for certain, but it looked like a locket. He had to get a better look.

Talynn looked down at her mother's locket. She didn't remember how she'd gotten a hold of it, but it was her one comfort at night when she couldn't sleep. She opened it slowly, letting herself prepare for the picture inside. Once she opened it, a rush of things ran over her. Her mother's laugh, her father's smile, her brothers' mischief; she remembered it all. The only thing she didn't remember, was how she survived, and they didn't.

"Who will kiss my head?" she sang out quietly.

"When I lie in bed?  
And who will hold my hand?  
Who will understand?  
Who will sing my song to me?"

Cole couldn't believe his ears. Her voice was so gentle, it probably put birds to shame. Heck, it put anything he'd ever heard to shame. He snuck a little closer to hear more.

"Who will hold me tight," she continued, staring at her mother.

"In the dark of night?  
And who will brush my hair?  
Rock me in my chair.  
Who will sing my song to me?" She looked at her father, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Who will sing my song to me?" Now her two brothers, who had made her giggle so much.

"Now that you," She closed the locket tight.

"Are gone."

She continued to stare out into the night, as if it held the answers. The she sighed.

"You can come out now Cole." She called into the wind. "There's no use hiding. I know you're there."

Cole jumped out of the shadows, landing beside her. "How did you know I was there?"

"Your aura." She replied, putting the locket in the sweatpants pocket. "It told me you were nearby. It's a gift I got from my mother."

"You remember?" he asked, a little startled by this.

"A bit." She replied, looking at him for the first time without her shades since this morning. "Nothing special about her, I guess. I mean I remember she had a way with people. She could talk to them openly and-" she looked down a little. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"No, it's good." He said giving her a smile. "What about your dad? You remember him?"

"Not as much." She stated. "I guess he wasn't around a lot when I was young. But my brothers…I'd rather not talk about them."

"Okay. I understand. Still, the 'aura' thing?"

"Right." She looked him in the eye. "Well whenever I want to check something out, I spread my aura all around until it comes in contact with another one. I can't see aura's clearly, but I can feel them."

"Huh." Cole said, looking out onto the horizon.

"What about your parents?" She asked. "What're they like?"

Cole sighed. "Well my dad," he began. "He's a Royal Blacksmith. You've heard of them?"

She nodded.

"Well, he tried to get me to follow in his footsteps. And when that didn't work, well…I ran away."

"Well that seems foolish." She said. "But…then again, if you hadn't, you wouldn't be here now."

"Exactly my way of thinking."

She smiled. "What about your mom?"

Cole's stance hardened. She could see she'd upset him, and very badly as well.

"She left as soon as I wasn't dependant on her anymore." He stated harshly. "I was most likely one when she did." He gripped the railing. "We'd hear from her from time to time. Then she just…stopped. Didn't hear or see her again. Then two years ago, she came out of nowhere. Giggling and smiling that I was her son."

Talynn listened carefully, letting her aura surround her to make sure everyone else was asleep. He just kept gripping the railing harder. Something was wrong. Like angry wrong.

"She reentered my life only to get some fame from being my mother." He said, his voice near a yell. "She didn't care about me, she only cared about herself."

"Cole…you need to calm down." She said, trying to get him to look at her. "You're not the only one who's gone through a thing like this."

"Name one other person." He said harshly, not meeting her eyes.

"Me."

He met her eyes then, finding them weary and disoriented. He also saw that she had slipped of her jacket, revealing that her arms were wrapped in bandages.

"Relax, this isn't from you." She said, tying the jacket around her waist. She then looked out onto the horizon. "My adoptive parents were quite famous where they lived. So when they adopted me, I became pretty famous too. When I was fifteen, I met this reporter guy and…well…"

"He got you hooked to things didn't he?" he asked as he looked at her arms.

She looked down at the deck and nodded. "I'm not proud of it. Especially when my parents found out." She started shaking. "The look on their faces when they saw me in that magazine. I couldn't stand it."

"Hold on a sec." He told her. He pulled a lever and a punching bag popped up. He guided her to the bag slowly. "Hit this. Trust me, it'll help."

She began punching slowly, each hit harder than the last.

"He used me."

*Punch*

"Just to make his job easy."

*Punch**Punch*

"He manipulated me, just to bring my family down a notch!"

*Punch**Punch**Punch*

"He's the reason I almost died!"

*Punch**Punch**Punch**Punch*

The last punch took the bag right off the ring it was hanging on, landing about four feet away. Cole was impressed. He'd never seen so much strength in a girl, let alone one who had been through so much. She was good at masking her anger that was for sure.

Talynn breathed in and out slowly, regaining her composure. No one ever saw her true anger. Because her true anger was aimed at herself. SHE had done all those stupid things, She had gone along with whatever that guy said. And now she was paying the price.

"Is this why you came back?" Cole asked, helping her up slowly. " To regain control of your life?"

She thought about it a bit. "I guess so." She said as a small yawn escaped.

"Come on," he told her, putting her arm over his shoulder "let's get you in bed."

Talynn didn't argue as she was almost asleep on her feet. But before they headed downstairs, she got his attention for a second.

"Cole," she said, her head nodding a bit. "Don't tell the others…about what I told you…okay?"

At this Cole smiled. "Just as long as you don't tell what I told you."

She nodded, glad for the first time in a long time, she could trust someone outside her small circle of friends.

(Cole's Dream P.O.V.)

 _"Come on Tallie it's easy." I say as I look over at the little one. "Just watch me and repeat what I do okay?"_

She nodded at me and watched closely, eyes wide with wonder at what I was going to teach her.

"All right. Now," I grab a scythe near my feet and get it into the right position. "First stance."

She mimics me.

"Second stance." I bring the blade above my shoulder; she does the same. "Strike!" We both bring them down to the ground, causing a small earthquake beneath our feet.

She smiles and giggles at what she's done. 'I did it!' She signed happily. 'I did it Col!'

"Yes you did." I say lifting her up above my head as she laughs louder. "And I couldn't be prouder!"

"So she mastered it huh?" A voice said that I recognized. I turned and saw a guy who looked somewhat like Kai come up with a little redhead girl. "Ky too. She's almost got the fiery tornado down."

"Well that is no surprise Kashton." Another voice says as a guy who looked like Zane when he looked human approached with another little girl. "All of the girls are quite well trained for their ages. Snowflake has almost made the Ice shield a plethora of times."

"That's great Zandor." I say as I set Tallie down to play with the other girls. "Tallie's just mastered Earth Shaker with the scythe, so now we just gotta work on getting her to do it without a weapon."

We all laughed as the young ones sat down and began to play a game. I couldn't help but smile as I saw something begin to appear on Tallie's shoulder. The mark of the Black Dragon.

****  
(Talynn's P.O.V.)

"Talynn? Talynn. Talynn it's time to wake up."

"Mm…wha?" I open my eyes blearily to see Soula above me.

"Come on slow poke wake up." She shakes my shoulder gently. "Sensei stopped by with our new uniforms. Ky's already got hers on and is heading to breakfast." She says pulling me up slowly. "We've got to get you out of your bandages and into yours."

I can't help but smile. She was so excitable. Then again-if I'm remembering right-so what her mother.

As the bandages came loose, I looked at my right shoulder to watch what I had worked so hard to earn.

The mark of a true Blessed.

A black dragon.

I'm back! Sorry for taking so long with this, lots of college stuff needed to be done. Anywho, comment. Ask questions! Follow the story! I'll be posting when I get a chance!

Oh, and the song does not belong to me. Nor do the ninja. Only Talynn, Kyna, and Soula belong to me.


	8. A New Day of Surprises

(Kai's P.O.V.)

"Where are those girls?" Jay asked, more than a little grumpy this morning. It was his own fault for staying up so late. He didn't get to his bunk 'til about after midnight. Then Cole left to check something out and didn't come back for awhile, which was why he was resting his head on the table. He looked as worn down as Jay did.

"Jay, for once in your life, be quiet!" Cole exclaimed throwing a napkin at the blue loud mouth. "They'll get here when they get here."

"You okay Cole?" I asked, trying to figure out why our leader was in a bad mood. "You look sort of out of it."

Cole sighed. "I had another dream about Tallie last night."

"But you did not shout out like you did before." Zane said, setting down more food.

"That's just it. This time it was a good memory."

"Well, what did you see?" Jay asked, curious about the dream. It was strange he didn't get them since the rest of us-excluding Lloyd-had one.

Cole sat up. "I was teaching her something called 'Earth Shaker.' Then two guys who look like Kai and Zane came up with little ones of their own."

I almost choked on my drink. "Say what now?"

"You heard me." He said with a determined face. "The one that looked like you Kai was called 'Kashton' and he was with a little one he called 'Ky', and Zane; the one who looked like you was called 'Zandor' and his little one was called 'Snowflake'."

Zane and I looked at eachother, then back at him. "Did they call you by a different name?"

"Yeah. Colatos. Though, Tallie called me 'Col'."

"Well that's pretty close to your real name." Jay said as his stomach was growling. "Seriously, where are those girls?"

"Someone talkin' 'bout me?"

Looking up at the door, I was a bit shocked. Kyna was out of her regular clothes and was put into a gray gi with a hooded shirt and a red scarf around her neck. Her hair was pulled back tightly into a high pony tail held by a red ribbon. Her swords were strapped to her back. She looked a little different than I last saw her though. More…angry I guess.

"I still say my regular clothes would've been just fine for this." Kyna complained as she sat down beside me. "I mean, I'm not used to carrying my swords like this. I'm more used to them being at my side."

"Are you still complaining?" Soula asked as she walked in, wearing the same color gi with a white scarf. Her bangs held back by bobby pins instead of that weird button from yesterday. "You've had your swords on your back before, so just deal with it." She sat down between Jay and Zane. "Or would you prefer to tell Sensei why you wish to change positions of your weapons?"

Kyna growled-and I mean GROWLED-at that. As angry as she looked, she calmed when Talynn walked in with her scythe in hand. She wore the same thing as the other two. The only differences were her scarf was black, her hair was loose, and she was wearing her shades again.

"You okay Tal?" Kyna asked, helping Talynn sit between her and Cole. She seemed to be as overprotective as I did when Jay first met Nya. "You seemed dazed."

"Yeah 'm fine." She replied, letting her head rest on her arms. "Just another insomnia night."

"Again?"

I looked over to Cole to see if he knew anything about this, but our leader was still a bit out of it himself. Was he thinking about the dream again? Or something else?

(Zane's P.O.V.)

"Soula I thought you gave her that pill to help her sleep."

"I did." Soula replied, pulling back Talynn's hood to check for a fever. "But you know how quickly she adapts to a prescription. I'm surprised this one lasted this long."

"Is Talynn sickly?" I asked, looking Talynn over. She only seemed dizzy last night. Now she looked just plain tired.

"Not most of the time." She said, "But she's had insomnia before. Mostly from worrying about us or being in a new environment."

"And with us being in the air," Kyna stated, grabbing some food from the center of the table. "It's not unusual. Not to mention so many new faces at once."

"Kylina." Soula said in a warning tone.

Kyna silenced and munched on the bread quietly. My brothers all began eating quietly as Soula looked over Talynn.

"I'll be fine." Talynn assured her, sitting up from the table. "I'll get a nap in at free time."

"Which won't be until after lunch." Kai stated, grabbing the juice. "You think you can last that long?"

"Done worse." She replied sitting up. "Where's Sensei? I wanted to thank him for the new gi."

"Most likely outside meditating with Lloyd." I replied. "You're free to join them if you wish."

Talynn smiled as she grabbed a biscuit. "I'll take you up on it."

With that, she left to go up to the main deck.

****

(Wu's P.O.V.)

"Uncle, could I ask you something?"

I opened my eyes to look at my nephew. "Of course Lloyd. What troubles you?"

"It's the girls." He sighed as he went to the side of the deck. We'd landed that night and were over the ocean. "I know you said we could trust them, but…something about them is…off."

I smiled at this. "You've become very aware Lloyd." I told him as I went to stand beside him. "What would you say if I told you that the girls had the same heritage as you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if I told you that, like you, the girls' fathers were once evil?"

"You're kidding!" He exclaimed.

"It's true." Talynn said, coming up behind us. "The girls and I don't remember much of our mothers. But our fathers…well that's another story."

"Good morning to you Tallianne." I said bowing slightly.

"Sensei, I've told you. It's Tallianna. Not Tallianne." She said bowing back. "I came to thank you for the new gi. If I'd known you were talking about us, I would've brought the other girls for their opinions on our fathers."

"No it's fine." Lloyd said. "I just can't believe your dads would be…well…"

"Evil?" she asked. "You can say it. Like you we didn't take after our fathers in many ways." She waved her hand over Lloyd's shadow and made it move on its own to stand beside her. "The way we did mostly was through our powers and our hair color. Everything else about us is…well…our moms, I guess."

"How did you-?"

"To me, all shadows are alive." She said, making the shadow rise to full height. "You just gotta know when to help them and-" she stopped, looking around. "Did you hear something?"

Both my nephew and I looked around and listened but heard nothing. But, I knew Talynn well enough to know that, when she heard something, it wasn't good. Not even a minute after she asked the question, Kylina and Soulika ran up the steps from the dining room with the other ninja and Nya not far behind.

"What's going on?" Lloyd asked.

"Dunno." Jay replied out of breath. "We were just having breakfast when those two popped out of their seats like they were on fire and-"

"Could you all be quiet for more than five seconds?!" Kyna asked going over to Talynn's right. "We can't concentrate!"

That hushed the ninja faster than anything I've seen before. The girls circled quickly, letting only their shoulders touch.

"Sensei what's happening?" Cole whispered.

"The girls heard something that only they can hear."

"But why can they hear it?" Kai asked quietly. "Why can't we?"

"Because," I replied. "The girls were trained to hear a dragon's call."

(Talynn's P.O.V.)

I know I heard it. It was faint, but it was there. A baby dragon's call. It was so young I probably wouldn't of heard it if we were still in the air. But on the water…that was another story.

"It's afraid." Kyna said, rubbing at her wrist. "It knows we're close by, but it can't get to us."

"It sounds young." Soula said, looking at me. "Like, just hatched young."

"Um, excuse me?" Nya asked. "What're you listening for?"

I looked at the other ninja, who were just as curious as she was. I knew we'd have to tell them sooner or later, but this is ridiculous.

"We heard a baby dragon call." I said quickly. I know I'm going to regret this later. "It's scared, and it sounds like it needs help."

"Well why doesn't it just use its powers and get away from whatever's scaring it?" Jay asked.

"Because it's a baby." Kyna said coming up beside me. "If it was an adult or even a teenager, you guys might hear it."

"But a baby or a child is harder to hear." Soula said. "We can barely hear it ourselves."

"I see." Sensei said. "Which way did it sound like it was coming from?"

"Southeast." I replied. "We'd have to dive a bit, but that's where it's coming from."

"Very well. Nya, set course. Let us see this baby dragon for ourselves."

"What?!" All the ninja exclaimed.

"Sensei, what about training?" Zane asked.

"We shall do some later in the day. But finding this young one is very important."

"Does that mean we can get out of our gi?" Kyna asked.

"If you desire." Sensei replied. "I'll be meditating if anyone needs me."

"Finally." Kyna said pulling off her hood. "I'm gonna go get changed for a swim."

"How can you think of swimming at a time like this?!" Kai asked. "There's a baby dragon out there!"

"Didn't you hear Talynn? We're gonna have to dive for the little guy. Ergo, I'm not gonna wear my gi into the water."

"I agree with Kyna." Soula said, heading downstairs. "We're all gonna get wet, so we might as well change into something we wouldn't mind getting wet."

As the others continued to argue, Cole and I remained above. I wanted to give Kyna some cool off time since our fight last night, and Cole I guess had questions for me.

"Can you really hear a dragon?"

"Yep." I said sitting against the rail. "It's so small though. If we were in the air, I don't think I would've heard it."

He sat down beside me. "How do you know what a dragon sounds like?"

"Well…you know where the Scythe of Quakes was hidden?"

"Well yeah. That's where I got my first weapon and met…" he looked at me like he was coming to a realization. "You know Rocky don't you?"

I laughed. "You called him that too?"

"Well it's better than just calling him the Earth Dragon."

"True." I said, hugging my knees. "Anyway, Rocky was the first child dragon I met. When he realized I wasn't after the scythe, we became close. Then someone tried to hurt him to get to the scythe. I could hear him back at the monastery, so I reacted."

"You went to save Rocky all on your own?" He asked shocked. "Even I know that's crazy."

"Well what can I say, I was a stubborn eight year-old." I said standing up. The call was getting louder. "We're close. You may want to go get changed."

"Same to you." He replied. "And when we get back to New Ninjago City, remind me to introduce you to Rocky again." 


	9. Dragon or a Sea Serpent

(Cole's P.O.V.)

It wasn't long before we reached the area where the girls heard the dragon's call. We-the guys I mean-had all put on swim trunks and a wet suit shirt. Talynn came up not too long ago in a pair of swim shorts and a short sleeved wet suit swim shirt.

"What's taking them so long?" Jay asked. Great, it was breakfast all over again.

"Just be patient Jay." Talynn said, tying back her hair. "Kyna's having some doubts about the water and Soula can't find her top."

"Here we are." Soula said coming up, dragging Kyna behind her. Both were wearing the same as Talynn, but their wet suit shirts were long sleeved. "Sorry about the wait."

"How close are we?" Kyna asked, looking over the edge.

"I'd say as close as we're gonna get with the ship." Nya said coming down the steps. "The coral reefs are too dense. And like Talynn said, you can't hear him from the air."

"Are we sure it's a boy dragon?" Kai asked.

"Not yet." Talynn replied, pulling off her shades. "But it's better than calling him an 'it'."

"Tread carefully my students." Sensei said from above. "This reef is home to many a creature. There's no telling what could be down there."

"Don't worry Sensei," I replied sitting on the edge of the rail. "We'll keep an eye on eachother."

"Aren't you coming with us Nya?" Kyna asked.

We hadn't even thought about it. Nya just always stayed put working on projects in her room. But with three new members-who were female no less-why wouldn't she want to come?

"Who me?" she asked, genuinely surprised. "I dunno."

"Come on." Soula said, grabbing her arm. "We've got an extra swim suit in our room."

"But-"

"You can't be a princess in a tower forever Nya." Talynn stated, swinging her leg over the bar. "You gotta escape sometime."

"Uh…translation anybody?" Jay asked.

"What Talynn's saying is you gotta get out of your comfort zone sooner or later." Kyna said, standing beside Talynn. "Like I am with this mission. I normally hate water, but for a dragon, I'd risk getting wet."

"You mean like this?" Talynn asked as she wrapped her arms around Kyna. Both immediately fell into the water with a big splash. When they surfaced, Kyna looked like she was ready to rip Talynn apart.

"I'm gonna get you for this!" She stated, swimming towards her friend.

Talynn just laughed. "You and I both know it was the only way to get you into the water!"

We watched them for a bit; Kyna trying to drown Talynn, and Talynn avoiding it by the smidge of a second. We almost didn't realize we'd been standing there long before Jay and Kai got splashed.

"Hey!"

"What was that for?!"

"For standing around and not getting in!" Kyna said, preparing for another splash.

"Come on the water's great!"

I wasn't about to be splashed by either of them, so I jumped in quick. Lloyd and Zane weren't far behind. Soula and Nya ran off since they just came back up. That just left Jay and Kai.

"Come on you two!" Talynn yelled. "That baby dragon won't wait forever!"

"What about the reef?" Jay asked.

"The reef's a few feet from here. From there we dive and find the baby."

"Kai don't make me come up there and get you!" Kyna exclaimed, looking ready to come get him.

"I'd like to see you try." Kai stated, crossing his arms.

By then it was too late to stop Kyna, who was already halfway up the haul of the ship. Jay didn't like the looks of it I guess, because he jumped overboard. That only left our hotheaded fire bender up there.

"He had to challenge her didn't he?" Talynn asked swimming up beside me as Kyna pulled herself over the bar. "Now we're gonna have a test of who's even more stubborn."

"Five bucks says Kai throws Kyna back into the water." I say watching the two red ninja fight.

"All right." She said pulling herself closer to the ship. "But you may wanna move because either way we get splashed."

I took her advice and swam up against the ship. Not even a moment later though, it was KAI who got thrown overboard. I looked over at Talynn to see her smiling.

"Not, a word."

"Okay. But you still owe me five dollars." She stated swimming away. "Kyna get your butt down here!"

"No need to say that twice." Kyna said jumping in.

Talynn led the way through the waves. The reef was below us now; the multi-colored coral looked like a rainbow of colors.

"Beautiful." Soula said, swimming ahead. "Reminds me of the scales of a dragon."

"Now that I think about it, this reef's better known as Dragon's Ridge." Nya said coming up beside Kai. "A long time ago, female dragon's came here to nest and hatch their eggs. Then the waters of Ninjago rose and the nesting ground was lost, along with a bunch of the eggs."

"Well this one must be aquatic." Talynn stated. "Look."

We all did, almost unable to believe our eyes.

There ahead of us was a three foot long sky blue baby dragon caught in a fisherman's net.

(Talynn's P.O.V.)

I'd never seen a dragon so small. It looked scared that's for sure. But it wasn't scared of us. No, it was scared of the people up ahead.

Poachers.

I'd heard of people often mistaking dragons for the Loch Ness Monster or a Sea serpent, but this little one was just hatched. And I mean fresh out of the egg hatched. It still had its eyes shut tight, meaning it hadn't opened them yet. But where was his mother? Then it hit me. The poachers had killed the mother.

"This little thing's gonna be a great haul eh Eli?" A man said not noticing us.

"You bet Chase." Another said. "This Sea serpent is probably worth more than the mum."

Both men laughed, making me angrier by the second. I didn't care if my other personality took control at this point. Just as long as the baby was safe, that was all that mattered. I noticed that Cole was grimacing too. As was everyone else. They didn't like the way these guys treated the baby dragon anymore than me and my team.

"So what's the plan?" Kai asked, looking at us cautiously.

"We split up." I said, peeking out from behind the rock. "Soula, you and Zane dive and get the little guy free. Take Kai and Kyna with you."

"Understood." Zane replied, diving under the water, taking Kyna, Kai, and Soula with him.

"Jay, Nya, Lloyd, you guys play decoy. Make sure the poachers don't see the divers. We can't risk one of our own getting hurt."

"You got it." Lloyd said, swimming ahead with Jay. Nya looked back once, but the look on my face made her swim ahead with the others.

"And what do you plan that we do?" Cole asked looking at me skeptically.

I felt a pounding in my head; my other side taking over. No control. I have no control!

"We sneak abroad and teach those poachers a lesson." I feel myself say, swimming towards the ship. "No creature deserves what they've done happening to them."

* * *

(Normal P.O.V.)

The groups split up quickly and began to do their jobs. Jay-being the most annoying-got the poachers' attention first.

"Hey! You two in the boat!" He yelled out, waving his arms back and forth. "Don't you know there's no hunting allowed here?!"

"What's it to you?!" The one called Chase, looking around. It didn't make sense how a lone swimmer could be this far out on his own. Especially since the Ninja of Ninjago's bounty wasn't very far-

Oh crap.

"Uh…Eli?"

"Let the dragon out of the net and we won't hurt you!" Lloyd exclaimed, standing on top of another rock.

"Oh yeah?" Eli laughed, looking between the two. "You and what army?"

The two ninja looked at eachother and smirked. They were hoping he'd say that.

"Uh…Eli."

"What?" He looked at his partner, who was struck with fear. Then he looked in the direction that he was pointing in. Seeing the Destiny's Bounty in the distance, he then looked over at the two swimmers.

"Aw crap!" He exclaimed, backing towards the back of the boat. "Call the boss!"

"Not gonna happen." Cole said as he backed up into him. "You two are going to jail for poaching an endangered species."

"Not only that." Talynn stated coming up behind Chase. "But you'll also be arrested for endangering the wildlife of this coral reef, not to mention a freshly hatched dragon egg!"

This made the two look at eachother, then down into the water, where two more ninja and their female companions were cutting free their catch!

"Do you know how much that hide costs?!" Chase asks, grabbing Talynn by the neck. "It's our ticket to fame and fortune!"

Talynn's eyes turned black in an instant, her hands pointed to the two men's shadows, making them rise until they were the same height as the men. Both of their eyes opened, revealing a deep crimson red. Shadow Chase immediately pulled the real Chase off of Talynn, leaving the girl rubbing her neck. Shadow Eli pinned his owner before he could escape.

Cole, Jay, Lloyd, and Nya watched in awe as the shadows forced the two down on their knees as if they were bowing to royalty. Talynn made both of them meet her eyes, which were getting darker by the minute.

"If there wasn't the presence of a young one, I wouldn't hesitate to slay you where you kneel." She said, her left hand creating a pitch black spear out of the shadows. Both men cowered, thinking that this was the end of their lives.

But the spear never reached them.

Instead, she made their shadows transform and become a pair of handcuffs for each; her eyes turning red in the process.

"But as I said, for the presence of a young one, I will not kill."

* * *

"So what do we call him?" Kyna asked, looking down at the little guy in the bathtub as she dried her hair.

The creature was truly remarkable. Light blue scales with a dark blue underbelly; his fins matching the same darkness. Across the scales was a black swirly design, making it look like he had a storm cloud on him. It would be some time before his wings came loose enough for him to open them, but that didn't matter at the moment.

"There is a great multitude of names we could choose for him." Zane stated, going through his data banks. "Though, we may want to simplify it quite a bit."

"How so?"

"Well," Kai began as he put gel in his hair. "When we got our dragons, we went with what got them pretty close to their elements. So what we gotta do is think of what this little guy's element is, and we got a list of shortened names."

"Well that's not so hard." Soula stated, going back into the girls room. (They'd put the dragon in the conjoining bathroom) "He's a water-lightening dragon. You can tell by the color of his scales."

"So we've got a double dragon?" Kyna asked sitting on her bed. "That's pretty rare."

"Ever more a good thing you got to the young one when you did." Wu said walking in. "Who knows how far those men would've gotten if the girls had not heard the young one's call."

Kyna and Soula looked away, blushing a dusty pink as they did. Talynn on the other hand just stared at the small creature she used so much power to protect. She knew what name to call him, but she decided to wait and see what the other's came up with.

"Here's some ideas of names for the young one." Zane said, going through a list in his mind. "Cove?"

"Too cavey." Kyna said, pulling on a juju bead bracelet.

"Typhoon?"

"I don't think so."

"Reef?"

"Do you want to remind him and everybody else of this day? Besides that's a girl name"

"Tempest?"

"Again female."

"Neptune?"

"No way are we naming that little guy after a planet."

"Storm." Talynn said suddenly, putting her hand on the baby dragon's forehead. "We're calling him Storm."

No one dared to argue with the tannette. Instead, the boys and Nya backed out while Wu walked ahead, putting a hand on Talynn's shoulder.

"I understand you went into your darker self to save this young creature." He said, kneeling down to meet the small dragon's eyes.

Talynn sighed. "Yeah." She petted his forehead. "I know I just put any chance of having the ninja as allies down quite a bit-"

"On the contrary. I want them to know what you're capable of."

"Excuse me?" Talynn asked confused at what he was telling her.

"All your lives, you girls have had to hold back. To not reach for your true potential." He said, watching Storm swim about. "Not anymore. I want my youngest students to become who they really are, not hang back and let themselves become play things."

"The question is this though." He said, getting to his feet. "Are you a dragon, or a sea serpent?"

Talynn pulled her shades off, meeting her teacher's eyes. "What do you think?"

* * *

 _ **Okay I know this is way overdue. But with school coming up, my parents are starting to drive me to a point that I'm too stressed to write! I'll try to get more posted before the school year starts. If I don't, so sue me. And I'll try to get another chapter up of Gem's of the Night in too. Wish me luck!**_


	10. Here We Go Again

After an adventure like the one they had earlier today, Sensei decided to let them all rest for the rest of the day. The guys weren't complaining, but they also got quite a bit of training in. Nya went back to her workshop to get some of her own work done, while Kyna and Soula had chosen to get their late lunch ready.

Talynn was back in their room, putting some final touches on her wall. She'd painted it completely black with splashes of silver here and there, reminding her of the night sky of her home.

'My home.' She thought, cleaning out her paintbrushes in the bathroom sink. 'It's been so long since I've been there. Since any of us have been there.' She looked down at Storm, who was finally settling down and resting on the bottom of the cold tub.

She petted his scales slowly. 'What would my mother think of me? Of what I've done? I want to believe she'd be proud of me but-'

A knock on her door startled both her and Storm. It had to be Nya or one of the guys if they were knocking.

"It's open!" She yelled, getting back onto her feet.

Zane entered. "Talynn?"

"I'm in here Zane." She called from behind the bathroom door. "I'll be out in a minute."

"There is no need to rush." The nindroid replied, walking a bit further into the room. "I just came to tell you that lunch is-"

He stopped talking when he saw the painting on Talynn's wall, making it look like the night sky was in this very room, shooting stars lighting it up. It was incredible.

Talynn walked back into the main part of the room, seeing the nindroid stare at her latest art project. "Is it good?"

"Good?" the nindroid asked. "It is incredible. I've never seen someone paint something like this."

"Well it's not quite done yet." She stated, drying off her hands. "I mean it looks done but…I dunno, it needs something."

"Even if it is not complete, it is still magnificent." Zane said, turning towards her. "You have quite the talent."

"It's not a talent." She said, "It's just something I like to do."

"But it-"

"Can we please just drop it?" she asked, walking towards the door. "You said lunch is ready so the others are waiting."

Zane watched as Talynn stormed away; as if the father she was from her painting, the better she would feel.

And that was something he didn't understand.

* * *

(Kai's Dream P.O.V.)

 _"Something wrong Kashton?"_

 _I look up from the lake to see a guy who looks like Cole coming towards me with a little one who looked close to Ky's age. Cole was right when he said these guys looked similar to us, but there were differences._

 _Like the fact that there were markings all over our arms that looked like vines, or the fact that we wore masks. Other than that, we were the same._

 _"It's Ky." I sighed out, looking a little farther down. "I can't teach her anything."_

 _"Oh come on it's not that hard." The Cole look-alike said, sitting beside me._

 _"I'm not patient like you or Zandor Colatos." I said getting to my feet. "I'm just not cut out for it."_

 _Colatos chuckled. "I thought the same thing when I first started teaching Tallie." He scooped up the small child, making her meet his eyes. "I felt like I wasn't teaching her anything with the way she reacted with what I taught her. But when I discovered she was mute, I found I had to change the way I taught for her to understand."_

 _Tallie looked up and me and began signing-somehow I understood every motion. 'Ky really looks up to you Kash. Don't give up yet.'_

 _"Then what do you suggest I do?" I asked exasperatingly. "I don't know how!"_

 _"Then don't think." Colatos said, getting to his feet. "Just do."_

* * *

(Normal P.O.V.)

"Kai lunch time!" Nya called into the boys' room. "Come on everybody's waiting."

Kai sat up from his bed. He didn't remember falling asleep, but then that dream seemed like it was pretty important. He saw that Kashton-who he was in the dream-felt like he did sometimes. That he just couldn't do anything right.

First there was the whole Nya being kidnapped, then the fact about the green ninja, followed by losing Zane, and now…now he was confused about three girls who seem to be more than what they appear to be. He didn't know what to think.

 _"Then don't think."_ Colatos' voice said ringing in his mind. _"Just do."_

It wasn't much, but it was enough.

"Kai!"

"Okay Nya I'm coming!"

* * *

Lunch was a quiet affair for the most part. The girls all sat on one side while the boys sat on the other. Nya decided that she would get to know the others better by having the rest of the day dedicated to them; what they liked to do. The guys on the other hand were talking about the girls, and the latest dream of Kai's.

"You weren't kidding when you said they looked like us Cole." The fire ninja said, playing with his food. "I mean, looking into the lake, I saw me-but it wasn't me. It was someone else."

"I know," Cole said, grabbing a drink. "What I find weird is that it's just you, me, and Zane having these dreams. Why aren't Lloyd and Jay?"

"Hey, don't ask me." The blue ninja said eating his food. "From your guys' reactions to those dreams, I don't want 'em."

"I'm not sure if I do either." Lloyd replied. "But I also think that the girls have something to do with it."

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Zane said, confused at what the green ninja was getting at.

"Think about it. The dreams didn't start until the night before those three got on the ship. My guess is that the dreams are trying to warn you about something. Something that has to do with them."

"So what do we do?" Kai asked. "Ask them if they know anything about these dreams? Last time I checked, those three don't remember a thing about their pasts before they were toddlers."

"Not necessarily." Cole mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Cole got up from his seat. "I'm gonna go train some more."

As the black ninja walked away, he didn't notice a pair of red eyes follow him out of the room. Nor did he notice the owner begin to follow him.

"Talynn."

"Hmm?"

"Where are you going?"

She hadn't realized she was standing, or even making her way towards the door.

"I…don't know."

* * *

"So let me get this straight." Nya said, leaning against Kyna's bed. "After the fire took away your loved ones, you were all separated? Why?"

"Well, from what we understood, we were too powerful when we were young." Kyna said, messing with her juzu beads. "When we got older, we were able to be together again. But our power was unstable; just like our emotions."

"Emotions?"

"Yes." Soula said, picking up her laptop. "When we were children, our emotions dominated everything; especially our powers. And since we were overwrought with the death of our loved ones…well…"

"Let's just say that if we were left together, we could've destroyed many things." Talynn said, digging in her bag, tossing objects out.

"Hey watch it!" Kyna said, dodging another book sailing across the room. "What're you looking for anyway Tal?"

"I figured out why I couldn't sleep last night without wearing myself down."

"And that is?"

"The book." She said, looking up for a second, then diving back in. "I know it's in here somewhere, but where?"

"Um…what book?" Nya asked, dodging another book. "It looks like she's got plenty of them."

"The book she's looking for is special." Soula said, grabbing a book before it hit her. "Her mother wrote it."

"And every night we read it to settle down and read it." Kyna said, picking up the books. "It's sorta our comfort for when we miss our moms."

"Found it!"

Nya looked over to see that the book was pure black with silver and green trim. In pure cursive was the title, _**The Shadow Bride**_. Underneath was a black rose with a green gemstone inside it, behind it was a shadowy hand reaching out for it.

"Wow." She said, getting up to look at the book. "Your mom wrote this?"

"Wrote it, designed it, and published it." Kyna said smiling a bit. "I think you can guess where Tal gets her talent." She nodded towards the wall.

"But I'm not-"

"Tal," Soula said, closing her laptop. "You're letting his words get to you again."

"Who?" Nya asked. "One of the guys?"

"No. Her ex."

Nya stared. Talynn had had a boyfriend?

"He hurt her physically and emotionally." Kyna explained, coming over to Talynn's side. "We almost lost her about a month ago."

"That's why we came back." Talynn said, sitting on the edge of her bed. "So I could get better."

"So WE could get better." Soula stated. "Kyna cuts her wrists-"

"Hey!"

"And I don't eat that much. Sensei said he could help us. But I don't know how."

Nya stared at them for a bit, then smiled.

"The best way to start," She said, pulling them close together. "is admitting you have a problem."

* * *

It was late at night when Talynn woke up to the sound of pounding. It didn't make sense to her that anyone would be awake; they'd all gone to bed tired after a long day like today.

Curious as she was and knowing she wouldn't go back to sleep until she found out what was happening, she pulled on the same thing from the night before and made her way upstairs. She was startled by what she saw.

It was Cole, pounding away at the same bag she was last night. He didn't seem angry, he just seemed…confused.

"Any reason you're awake and not in bed?" She called out, making her way over to him.

Cole looked up to see Talynn walk over, making him get hit with a returning punching bag, and stumble. Talynn barely contained her giggles.

"Did you plan that?" he asked rubbing his head.

"No." She said smirking a bit, helping him up.

"You so did!" he exclaimed, causing her to laugh more.

"Okay, maybe I did." She admitted. "Just a little."

Cole stared at her for a second, then joined in the laughter. This girl was something else that was for sure.

Talynn settled down first. "So why are you up here anyway? I thought everyone went to bed early tonight."

"Couldn't sleep." He said, walking over to the railing. "With a day like today, it's put a lot of questions in my head."

"Any questions you think I can answer?" she asked, walking towards him.

"I hope so." He said. "That thing you did today; with the shadows. Could you always do that?"

"Well yeah." Talynn stated, leaning against the bar. "I mean there's more to being a Master of Shadows than anyone knows. There's becoming the shadow, and then there's actually controlling the shadow. That's what I specialize in."

"I don't follow."

"Well…you know how you control the Earth, but don't become the Earth? It's kinda like that."

"That makes sense," he said. "but it doesn't explain why your eyes turned black."

"Oh. That." She slid down to the ground. "It's a trait I get from my father. Whenever someone threatened him or someone he cared about, his eyes turned black; his power intensified. He became someone else for awhile. Everyone thought he was unreachable in that state. That is, everybody, but my mom."

Cole hadn't seen anyone talk like this about their parents in a long time. Sure, when you're young you adore them. But this, this was just rare. She spoke about them as if they were what she hoped to be; what she hoped to have. He had to know more.

He sat down beside her. "So your parents meant a lot to you huh?"

"Well yeah." She said looking at him. "My parents were total opposites. But somehow…they made it work. They got through to eachother; helped make eachother stronger and learn to love. That's all I ever wanted. But…you know what happened."

He did, but he knew better than to bring that up. "So your dad was an elementalist?"

"They both were actually." She stated, pulling out her locket. She showed him the picture inside. "My dad was a Master of Shadows, and my mom was a Master of Earth. My brothers got my mom's powers, I got my dad's."

"I didn't know you had brothers." He said looking the photo over. All of the kids looked like a combination of their parents, but Talynn was the only one with their dad's tan hair. The boys had the mother's auburn hair. "What were their names?"

"Parker is the older one." She said pointing to the taller one. "And the other is Alexandros. Park was seven when I was born; Alex was five. And I don't talk about them because I haven't seen them since the fire."

"You mean they-"

"I dunno. No one knows. Heck I don't know and I remember the whole thing."

"Wait, you remember? But the others-"

"The others don't remember because their amnesia hasn't cleared up yet. Mine did when I tried to kill myself a month ago."

It made sense to Cole. One really bad memory would become unlocked with the actions of something worse being done to the person. So her nearly dying awoke the memories that were trapped in her mind.

"So why didn't you tell them?"

She looked down at the deck. "Because some memories aren't worth remembering. Even if they're about the ones you love."

Cole sat back in thought for a bit, then got up. "It's late. We should get to bed."

As Cole walked away, Talynn felt her heart rate slow down exponentially.

'Funny.' She thought. 'My heart hasn't sped this fast since-'

Her eyes widened, her heart almost completely stopped.

"Here we go again."

* * *

 _ **Well, another chapter done. For those of you wondering where Pixel is, she's already in a new body and back with Cyrus Borg. We'll most likely see her in the next chapter, but I'm not sure yet. So enjoy this chapter! Be back when I can!**_


	11. City of Secrets

The days began to become a blur for the group upon the bounty. The guys adapted quickly to their female companions, who in turn adapted to them just as fast. It made training a lot more interesting, since the girls liked to turn any activity into a game. Like when they were balancing on poles. The girls began jumping from one to the other, making it almost impossible for the others to keep balance without jumping themselves, making another jump and so on.

Wu was glad to see that all of his students were getting along. It seemed to help with the girls' personal problems as well. About three days after getting Storm, they told the ninja why they had returned to Sensei. All agreed to help the best they could. And they were, more than they had ever hoped.

With Zane's cooking, Soula rarely found herself skipping out on meals. Especially when she helped make them. The nindroid and she had come to an agreement that if she'd help cook it, she'd have to eat quite a bit of it. It helped her gain the weight she needed. In fact, she also needed Kyna's exercises to keep completely fit.

Kai and Lloyd found the easiest way for them to keep Kyna from cutting herself was to keep her busy. So they started doing exercises-from running to katas to kick boxing. You name it they did it. Not only did it keep her distracted, it kept her from the need to feel pain. The thrum that had been so constant was gone; vanished as if overnight. And slowly, she and Kai began to bond over their shared similarities.

Talynn was the only one they had problems with. Her insomnia happened almost every other night now. During those nights though, she and Cole would bond. They'd talk about what their lives were like before meeting Wu, the families they left behind. Even their childhood friends.

Which was tonight's discussion.

"Wait wait hold on." Cole said, looking at her curiously. "You're telling me that you and this…Ahuka girl actually got your adoptive parents together?"

Talynn laughed. "Okay, first off, her name's Asuka. And so what if we did? I wasn't gonna be raised by a guy alone."

"Well who took care of you before you got to them?" He asked curiously, leaning against the rail.

"I…I'm not sure." She said hesitantly, rubbing the back of her head. "Like I've told you before, I remember most things, just not everything. I was probably unconscious most of that trip."

"For two to three years?"

"Hey who knows? Maybe I was in a coma."

Cole's eyes widened. "Don't even joke about that."

"Who says I'm joking?" she said seriously, a yawn escaping her lips. "It's late. We should get to bed."

"A 'right." The black agreed. "'Sides, Sensei said there was going to be a surprise tomorrow."

"Any clues on what?"

"If I knew I wouldn't tell you."

"Cole, you are positively _mal_."

"I try."

* * *

When daylight came, the girls were surprised to see that they were over a large city. A city in Ninjago they'd never seen before.

"It's humungous." Kyna stated, pulling on a short sleeved t-shirt. "I can't believe Sensei's bringing us here."

"Yeah, I remember when he wouldn't let us out of the training yard." Soula said, tying her now shoulder length hair back. "It seems like a dying memory now."

"Yeah." Kyna walked over to the bathroom door. "Tal are you ready?" No response came. "Tal-"

"Shh. Listen." Soula whispered.

The redhead did, surprised by the humming of a familiar lullaby.

"It can't be…"

"What's all the ruckus about?" Lloyd asked, walking in with the other ninja and Nya.

Both girls hushed him, and made the sign language movements for them to listen. As the rest had been taught this by Wu, they stopped talking and started listening. What they heard was a gentle melody, playing in their ears.

"Who is that?" Jay asked quietly.

"It's Talynn." Cole replied not as shocked as the others. "I heard her singing the first night. The humming's new."

"Well then you go get her." Kai said, getting to his feet. "You said you wanted to show her around."

"Oh and I suppose you'll be showing me around eh hotshot?" Kyna asked sarcastically.

"Actually yeah." The fire ninja stated, putting the red head over his shoulder. "Come on we've got a long way to go."

"Hey you think this is funny?! Put me down!"

As Kyna was carried out, Talynn was in the bathroom humming and singing softly as she cleaned Storm's scales. It was discovered that he could breathe air just as easily as he could water, so he would be going on the outing too. But he'd be in Talynn's backpack since he wasn't used to walking about just yet.

As she rubbed the suds on his hard skin, she found herself at peace, allowing her to remember the song that all the girls' mothers had sung to them. It seemed Storm to like it too, so she began to sing; not knowing that she was being listened to.

"Lavender's blue,  
Dilly dilly,  
Lavenders green,  
When I am King,  
Dilly dilly,  
You shall be Queen.

Who told you so,  
Dilly dilly,  
Who told you so?  
T'was my own heart,  
Dilly dilly,  
That told me so."

Storm began to splash her, as if telling her to continue. She wasn't going to argue with him. As she rubbed his neck, Cole peeked in to see how she was doing.

"Call up your men,  
Dilly dilly,  
Set them to work.  
Some to the plow,  
Dilly dilly,  
Some to the fork.

Some to make hay,  
Dilly dilly,  
Some to cut corn.  
While you and I,  
Dilly dilly,  
Keep ourselves warm.

Lavender's green,  
Dilly dilly,  
Lavender's blue.  
If you love me,  
Dilly dilly,  
I will love you.

Let the birds sing,  
Dilly dilly,  
Let the lambs play.  
We shall be safe,  
Dilly dilly,  
Out of harm's way.

I love to dance,  
Dilly dilly,  
I love to sing.  
When I am Queen,  
Dilly dilly,  
You'll be my King.

Who told me so,  
Dilly dilly,  
Who told me so?  
I told myself,  
Dilly dilly,  
I told me so."

Cole could listen to her all day if he could. But he had a full day planned, so they had to get going. He didn't know why Sensei had asked him to do this actually, but to spend time with the tannette besides at night, he wasn't complaining. He couldn't explain the natural pull between him and her. It was like they'd known each other all of their lives. Heck, she was even a scythe master like him. The only real difference between them were their powers. That, and Talynn's mysterious past.

But he couldn't think about that now. If he was going to show her all of New Ninjago City, they'd have to get going.

"You and Storm almost ready Talynn?" Cole asked, opening the door all the way.

"Almost." The tannette stated, wiping some of the suds off her hands. "I just gotta get him dried off before he decides to-"

But it was too late. In a matter of seconds, both were drenched in water and suds. Storm was making a sound that seemed a bit like laughing.

"Before he decides to do that?" He asked sarcastically.

"Yeah." She said wringing out her hair. "Storm likes things wet-which isn't surprising since he's part water dragon. But he's better than he was two weeks ago."

"Well now we're soaked and he's dry."

"I have a remedy for that." Talynn said pulling out a wooden flute from a pocket in her vest. "But you can't tell the others what this thing can do."

Cole nodded his agreement, unsure of what such a tiny thing could do against him. But he found as soon as a note was played, a gust of wind came from nowhere. More notes came from the little instrument, making more and more wind rise up. And a minute later, it was gone; and everything was dry.

"How did you-"

"This flute is called the Kaze no Furūto-the Flute of the Wind." She put the flute away. "It was a gift my dad made for my mom when they were dating."

"But I thought you said your dad was a Master of Shadows."

"He was." She stated, lifting Storm from the bathtub and into a backpack. "But he was good colleges with a Master of Wind and my mom was a Master of Earth, which made them mortal enemies. So Dad had the flute made to train my mom against the Wind Master."

"And you have it why?"

"It was my plaything when me and my brothers were young." she said, getting to her feet again. "I couldn't fight like they could, so it helped protect me."

"Wait? Protect you?" Cole looked at her curiously. Why would you need-"

"We can talk about this later." She said, pulling the bag with Storm in it on. "Don't you have a promise to keep?"

He'd almost forgotten that promise; the promise he intended to keep today.

"Then let's go."

* * *

"New Ninjago City isn't like any city I've seen." Soula said as she and Zane walked down the street with her camera in hand. "But then again, it is similar to where I grew up some of my childhood."

"And where did you grow up?" the nindroid asked, looking around. "You and the others never specified."

"Far away." She stated, snapping a picture of a couple sharing a dessert. "Where I'm from, people are even more terrified of the unknown." Soula lowered her camera. "Terrified of me."

Zane looked at her curiously. "Why would anyone be afraid of you? The only time I can think of you as truly terrifying is the day we met."

Soula cracked a crooked smile at the nindroid, playing with the neck strap of her camera. "Thanks Zane. But, there's a reason for the fear." She started walking down the street. "Not long after I lost my mom, I lost someone equally important to me, if not more."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "He was my protector; had been since the day I was born." A tear started welling in her eye. "Funny thing is, he's the whole reason I know Dark Ice-a power that has only been achieved by dragons themselves."

"How do you know all this Soula?"

"Because, he was a dragon."

She snapped a picture of his startled face.

* * *

"Seriously?! You were trained by a dragon?!"

Kyna covered Kai's mouth. "Would you keep it down hotshot? Somebody could hear you."

But in actuality, nobody was listening. They were in one of the busier sections of the city, so no one paid attention to anyone else.

Kai licked her hand.

"Ew!" She snatched her hand away. "What was that for?"

"Covering my mouth is reason enough." Kai stated, getting back on his feet. "So what happened to him?"

Kyna looked away from Kai, staring at a large building. Could she tell him? She'd already told too much. But…they were a team now right?

"Well?" Kai asked, getting impatient.

"…He died." She finally replied, looking at him with somber eyes. "He died in the same fire that took away my mother."

Kai finally got it. But once he did, he wasn't sure if he was hearing right.

"But I thought you said-"

"You've got a bit to learn about dragons before we talk about this again." Kyna stated, running away from him. "In fact, you have a lot to learn before you speak to me again!"

"Kyna!"

* * *

"Come on Cole." Talynn said pulling Cole down the street. "Quit being a _lambin_ and hurry up."

Cole could only chuckle as Talynn pulled him along. She was such a child when she wanted to be. But then again, she probably hadn't had much of a childhood. Losing her family, having to start all over with a new one, discovering her powers, the list went on and on. It was moments like this; moments that she was free of her past, that Cole seemed to like the most.

He had to agree that he hadn't had much of a childhood either. With his mom leaving when he was young, Lou put a lot of pressure on the boy to make sure he didn't turn out like her. But he ended up hurting him anyway when he ran away and lied. That made him no better than the woman who brought him into this world.

"Cole?" Talynn asked, slowing down and turning to face him. "Are you okay? Your aura…it's bouncing back that you're upset."

"It's nothing." The black ninja stated, looking away from her and walking ahead.

"Don't 'It's nothing' me." the tannette said, pulling him back. "I've used that way more than I care to state." She put her hand under his chin, making him meet her eyes as the other removed her shades. "You're comparing yourself to your mom again aren't you?"

He didn't answer her.

"How many times do I have to say it? You are not like her. Just like I'm not a shadow-wielding evil maniac like my dad was at my age."

"…Maybe."

"'Maybe?' Are you saying I'm evil?"

"In some senses yes." He teased. "Though I can't decide which is more evil. Your powers, or your smirk."

"Oh why you-" she yelled as he ran away. "Come back here and say that to my face!"

He led her on a chase thru the city streets, keeping a good seven feet ahead of her. He knew the smirk joke would draw her in like bees to honey. Her smirk was the only thing about her that deemed her evil. The rest of her was purely and undoubtedly good. Even if there were things about her that made him-

'Wait. Where'd that thought come from?' he wondered, turning the corner. 'I shouldn't be thinking like that. She's my friend.'

Cole was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice the shadow racing next to him until it blobbed out and released Talynn; startling him enough to skid to a halt.

"When- how-"

I told you before," Talynn stated, dusting off her jeans. "There's more to being a Shadow Master than what meets the eye. And becoming a shadow is one of them. That-" she placed her shades back over her eyes. "And since I haven't reached my full potential, I'm always discovering something new."

"Don't you worry that you'll discover something that you're scared of?"

She gave him a straight look. "The only thing you have to fear of the shadows is your imagination and how far it takes you into it."

"I don't get it."

"I'll explain it to you later." She said, grabbing his hand with her gloved one. "Right now I wanna see what it is you and Sensei promised to show me."

Cole gave her a teasing look. "Did I really promise you something?"

"Cole!"

He laughed at her. "Okay okay you win." He took his hand from her grip and hooked it around her waist. "Let's go see your surprise."

Cole was so busy looking ahead though, that he didn't notice all the looks they were getting from the people around them.

Or the blush that dusted Talynn's cheeks.

* * *

Soula had been silent for a while after their discussion of her protector. Zane didn't know what he'd said wrong afterwards-in fact he'd said nothing. He just didn't understand Soulika at all.

'Things were easier with Pixal.' The nindroid thought to himself. 'She was programmed with certain emotions and thoughts. Soula has so many that she changes quite quickly. I do not understand her. But then…how do I understand the child that acts so much like her in my dreams as Zandor?'

He looked over at Soula, who was now at a fountain sitting beside a mother and young daughter. The daughter was being fussy and the mother was constantly apologizing.

Soula only gave a small smile and began weaving her white gloved hands in a way that seemed to be magical. It enchanted the girl so much that she didn't even flinch when the snow white particles began sticking to her hair and clothes. Zane could only watch as the whirling white made both child and young woman smile and laugh. Once the white was gone, the girl was remade into a miniature Elsa from the Disney movie Frozen.

Both mother and child thanked her as they left, the child giving her an extra hug. As they walked away, Zane approached her curiously.

"How did you do that?"

Soula blew at her bangs. "It's an old Dark Ice trick my dragon taught me. You focus your thoughts into making the object. But instead of making it out regular ice, it makes out of a cloth-like ice." She stuffed her hands into her jacket. "It's nothing important."

"I disagree." The titanium ninja said, making his icy blue eyes meet her ruby red ones. "I think it is a wonderful talent. One that can come in handy at any moment."

Zane wasn't sure if he saw it. But for a moment, Soula's eyes were a rich emerald green.

The same emerald green he'd seen on the child in his dream.

* * *

Talynn was a bit confused when they arrived a rundown building called 'Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo'. She thought Cole was playing a trick on her. Especially when they walked inside.

"You here Dareth?" the black ninja called out, looking around.

A few noises came from the back of the building then a man with glossy brown hair wearing a brown gi came up front. His eyes immediately locked on Talynn. Cole stepped in front of her quickly, bringing the other man's attention back to him.

"Oh hey Cole." The man said, trying to look around him. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Talynn." He stated quickly. "You have what I asked?"

"Up on the roof." Dareth replied quickly. "Now about-"

Before he could finish though, Cole was already dragging Talynn up the stairs to the roof. The tannette didn't even struggle, as she wanted to get away from those eyes that were staring at her like a prize.

Once at the top of the stairs, Cole got behind Talynn and covered her eyes with one hand and opened the door with the other.

"You ready for your surprise?" He asked teasingly.

"Yes now hurry. You're smudging my specs."

Cole knew she was joking, but he quickly removed his hands to show her the surprise. Her eyes opened and her mouth dropped immediately.

Standing before her was the Ultra Dragon. And her favorite dragon was looking directly at her.

"Rocky!" She exclaimed, taking off her pack with Storm in it. She quickly ran over to the dragon head and hugged it, causing the dragon to roar in approval. The other heads began to look at her curiously. She laughed and began to approach them one by one. "I haven't forgotten you guys don't worry."

Cole watched from the doorway at her childlike ways. It was as if she was reuniting with an old friend-or friends as the case may be. She seemed…like Tallie.

The little girl in his dreams still came at night. But there'd been no bad dreams like the first time he had them. In fact…they were all calm and happy memories. But he felt that that was the calm before the storm. Speaking of which…

He scooped up Storm from his bag and went over to the head of his dragon, who immediately reacted to the sight of his owner.

"Hey boy." The black ninja said, putting a hand on his forehead, receiving a lick in response. "Yeah I missed you too. Hey look what Talynn and I found."

When the Ultra Dragon saw Storm, it was more than a bit curious. After all, it'd been so long since a baby dragon had been born. Let alone one that appeared to be a hybrid. The head that was originally Rocky sniffed at him first, then Flame, Shard, and Wisp began to as well. Storm became squirmy and ran behind Talynn's feet. The tannette just smiled and kneeled down to the small blue dragon.

"It's okay Storm. These dragons are nice. See?" She put a hand out. "Wisp. Come here Wisp."

The Lightening dragon head immediately reacted to the girl's call and went over to her. He let her put a hand on him, then brought his head down lower so his touched Storm, who felt a rush of electricity rush though him when they touched. The small dragon quickly brightened up and began circling the larger one. Who in turn began chasing the baby dragon.

The two black ninjas watched them for a while, letting their young charge get some time with one of his own kind. Then, Talynn felt a strong aura coming up the stairs. A strong, fiery aura. An aura that seemed scared.

"Kai's coming." She said, getting to her feet in a hurry. "Something's wrong."

* * *

(Kai's P.O.V.)

I can't believe I chased Kyna off. Usually when we fight, she and I just have a yelling match until one of the others came and tore us apart. But this time…this time seemed different. But what was so different about today?

I couldn't track down Zane and Soula, so I went to see if Cole and Talynn were still with the Ultra Dragon. And it was my lucky day that they were, or I wouldn't know what to do.

"Kai?" Cole asked as soon as he saw me. "What's wrong?"

"Kyna." I huffed out, trying to catch my breath.

"What about Kyna?" Talynn asked, looking at me harshly. "What did you say to her?"

"I dunno." I looked her in the eye. "One minute, we were talking about her dragon and the next-"

"You brought her dragon up?!" Talynn exclaimed. She immediately began circling me. "That is by far the worst thing you've done to her!"

"Whoa Tal!" Cole grabbed her from behind. "Take it easy!"

"Lemme go Cole! He's had this coming for days!"

"Not until you tell me what's so important about her dragon!"

"He died sixteen years ago today!"

Cole and I stared at her in shock, not sure whether or not to believe her. She started breathing harder, then broke down into tears. If what she said was true…then why didn't they tell us? Why didn't Sensei?

Cole asked the same question.

Talynn removed her shades to wipe away the tears. "We never told Sensei when it happened. But I guess he caught on after a few years. That's my guess on why he asked you guys to bring us out today. And we never talk about it because it just gets us all upset."

She looked away from us. "When you brought up what happened to him, it must've made her flashback to the fire; the one and only memory she has about her dragon aside from what he taught her."

"I get that. But what I don't get is why he's so important to her?"

Talynn met my eyes with harsh black ones. That's when I knew I was dead. Cole put an arm on her shoulder to make her meet his eyes quickly. We don't know why, but for some reason Cole can bring Talynn out of what we call 'the dark zone'. It took a minute, but she calmed down enough to give me a piece of paper.

"Read this. Then find her. She's your responsibility."

I left there as soon as I could, not stopping until I was at a bus stop a few blocks away. I could hear Talynn's screams behind me; screams that she usually used for when she did her medicine.

I looked down at the paper she'd handed me. It was Kyna's hand writing. It looked like she'd written this a while ago. It was called 'Just Me'.

 _ **If I could see him again,  
I know I'd be truly happy.  
Because with him,  
I was never alone.  
With him, I am me.  
Just me.**_

 _ **Not the person my father wants me to be,**_  
 _ **Not the person my mother was,**_  
 _ **Not the person people expect me to be,**_  
 _ **Just me.**_

 _ **The girl who loves music,**_  
 _ **The girl who loves books,**_  
 _ **The girl who loves writing,**_  
 _ **The girl he loves,**_  
 _ **Just me.**_

 _ **With him I don't have to be the person my father wants me to be,**_  
 _ **With him I don't have to be the person my mother was,**_  
 _ **With him I don't have to be the person people want me to be,**_  
 _ **With him I can be me.**_  
 _ **Just me.**_

I didn't know Kyna felt this way; that she felt lost without her dragon. I knew the feeling a little too well. And not from the Kashton flashes.

When I lost my dad, I was pretty much lost without him. But Nya, the guys, they brought me back. Now Kyna needed bringing back, just like the others girls did.

And I had a feeling I knew where she went.

* * *

(Cole's P.O.V.)

I wasn't mad at Talynn for not telling me this; that today was an anniversary that she'd rather forget. But I was a little shocked. I was the one she confided everything else to. So what stopped her from telling me this?

"Don't look at me like that."

I gave her a confused look. "Like what?"

"Like you understand the pain I feel." She slipped out of my grip. "Because you don't."

"I'm not trying to make it-"

"Yes you are!"

"Talynn." I removed her shades and met her eyes. "I understand you better than you think."

I don't know for sure if I was hallucinating after that. But I know I saw Talynn's eyes change color.

They were blue. The same shade of blue as Tallie's.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Man oh man oh man am I late with this! Sorry for the wait! College is a lot harder than I thought. Anywho, the song doesn't belong to me, but the poem does. See you when I can!**_


	12. A World Beyond Reason

(Kyna's P.O.V.)

No one understands what I'm going through right now. Not Talynn, not Soula, not Sensei. Not even myself.

For the last couple of weeks, things have been going pretty well between me and Kai. Sure, we still argue. But it's not as bad as in the beginning. But then when we got talking today-about how we learned our powers- it brought back memories; painful memories. Memories that I'd wish would either stay down or remain lost.

I stop running when I hit an alley. Crouching down, I pull up my sleeve and place my left hand on my right shoulder; letting all that I have left of him run through me. His fire; his strength. I call to it. I call his name.

 _Kashton._

* * *

(Kai's P.O.V.)

I wish I could say I was right about where I thought she went. But I was wrong. She wasn't anywhere near the arcade. Or anywhere in the immediate area. It seemed so useless, I was never gonna find her. Then I heard something.

 _Kashton._

It was faint, like a whisper. I recognized the voice immediately though. It was the little girl from my dreams; it was Ky.

 _Kash I'm scared. I'm all alone and I'm scared.  
_

I run towards where I think the sound is coming from. I have to find her. I can't allow her to be scared.

 _You said you'd always be here; that you'd always protect me._

'I will protect her.' I feel myself think. 'I'm not about to lose her to the darkness.'

 _But I can feel myself falling deeper. I've already fallen so much. If I fall any farther…_

'Don't say it.' I push myself harder. 'Don't think it.'

As I round the corner into an alley, I'm not sure whether or not to believe my eyes.

Shadows rose from the ground, making human figures that seemed…demonic in a way. They surrounded a figure at the end; a figure that was just out of my sight.

 _ **"Kylina…"**_

That voice. It was the one who'd tried to stop me from saving Ky in the fire. Or stop Kashton. Wait…did that thing say Kylina? That's Kyna's real name.

"Get away from me."

That's Kyna's voice all right. I have to get up higher to see what's going on.

* * *

(Kyna's P.O.V.)

I can't believe I let down my guard long enough for these guys to find me. I mean I know I'm upset, but it shouldn't be enough for these guys to find me.

 _ **"It's been a long time Lady Kylina."**_

"Don't call me that." I say, pulling my sleeve down. I'm not about to let this guy see what he wants so badly. "I'm not a lady anymore."

 _ **"But you could be."**_ The big shadows and its lackeys got closer. _**"I know what you want. What you truly desire."**_ It reaches for my shoulder.

"Back off!" I exclaim, summoning dark fire into my hand. For some reason, these shadows don't like our powers. Especially mine. "One more step, I burn you."

The spirit chuckled. _**"Your powers don't scare us anymore Young Mistress."**_

That's when I get a real good look at my flame. It's almost pitch black now. Have I really fallen this far?

 _ **"It is time you rejoin us."**_ It grips me around the waist. _ **"You…and your dragon…belong…to me!"**_

I feel myself slipping even farther than before. The shadows…they're consuming me. I can't see a way out of this darkness. I can't even move. Kai…I'm so…

"Leave her alone!"

* * *

(Kai's P.O.V.)

I don't know what came over me in the last few seconds. All I could do was yell for the shadows to leave her alone. I was angry. So angry, that I felt like I was on fire.

Maybe I was.

 _ **"Well well, what have here?"**_ The shadow creature said moving closer to me. _**"A dragon wannabe?"**_ It chuckled at me, making me even madder. _**"What can you expect to do boy? You are just a mere mortal. Against me, you'd be nothing more than a fly."**_

"Don't underestimate me." I reply, summoning fire into my hand. I notice it's bigger than usual, but pay no mind. "I can be just as dangerous as she is."

The shadows backed away from me. They seemed afraid of my fire. Good.

 _ **"Who are you boy?"**_

I give them a harsh glare. "My name is Kai Smith. And I," I light myself on fire. "Am the Master of Fire!"

That's when everything goes black.

* * *

(Kyna's P.O.V.)

I can feel Kai's fire bringing me back from the darkness. But…I don't understand. Only my dragon could bring me out of the darkness.

That's when it hits me.

All those times Kai and I were fighting; all those times we were getting along. It was just like my relationship with Kashton.

Kai was Kashton.

When I opened my eyes a bit, I confirmed it when I saw Kai.

His eyes were glowing a fiery red; and his fire had completely consumed him, taking a dragon. The same dragon I'd fallen in love with all those years ago.

 _ **"How is this possible?"**_ the shadow asked, looking between the fire master and me. _**"He was dead. I saw him-"**_

"So did I." I say, shakily getting to my feet. "But the key difference between us and them," My aura flared up, making my own dragon. "is that they can come back!"

The fiery dragon roared in response, then hastened to get to my side. The shadows backed farther away, giving us some breathing room. Then they began to fade.

 _ **"Make no mistake girl."**_ The shadow leader said, disappearing. _**"You, and that dragon…will be mine."**_

And with that, they were gone.

The fire formed dragon met my eyes. It was my dragon all right. Same warm glow in his eyes. Why hadn't I noticed before?

"Kyna!"

I looked at the entrance of the alley to see everyone else was there. Talynn and Soula were running towards me.

"Are you all right? We saw the-" Soula skid to a halt when she got a better look at Kai. "No. Way."

That didn't stop Talynn from getting to my side. "You are in so much trouble when we get back to the bounty." She said putting my arm over her shoulder. "As for Kai…"

It was at that moment the fire disappeared and returned Kai to normal.

"Oi, my head." He looked around. "What happened to those shadow creatures?"

"They're gone." Soula replied, helping him up. "For now anyway."

"What were those things?" Jay asked coming over to us. "It looked like a shadow, but it also looked…alive."

"That's because shadows are alive Jay." Talynn stated, helping me out of the alley. "I'll explain more when we get to the ship. Right now I just wanna get Kyna checked over before we get into more trouble."

* * *

(No One's P.O.V.)

By the time everyone was back on the ship, Kyna had passed out from the whole ordeal. Talynn had said this'd happened before, but that didn't stop Kai from worrying. He still felt like this was his fault. He was supposed to be watching her, not making her run into trouble.

Cole sat down beside him. "Heard anything yet?"

"Not that Tal or Soul will tell me." The brunette sighed. "This is all my fault. If hadn't angered her-"

"I'm gonna stop you there." The black ninja said, gaining his comrade's attention. "You couldn't have known this would happen. They haven't told us everything about themselves."

"My calculations specify that this has something to do with their pasts." Zane stated sitting beside his brothers. "A part of their past that they have yet to reveal to us."

"A past they intend to tell you about right now."

The ninja turned to see their sensei and the girls right outside their bedroom door. Kyna was not with them though.

Kai got to his feet. "How is she?"

"Kyna's fine." Tal said, giving Kai's shoulder a squeeze. "She just lost some energy from dealing with that Shadow Hunter."

"Shadow Hunter?" Lloyd asked, walking over to them. "What's a Shadow Hunter?"

Soula looked around. "Maybe we should move this conversation inside the bedroom. I don't want to be too far from Kyna when she wakes up."

The guys didn't agree right away, but once Sensei glared at them, they made their way inside.

The room had changed a bit in the last few weeks. At some point, the girls had put up canopy's around the beds to keep the light from keeping them awake. Kyna's was open a bit so that they could check on her every now and then.

Soula sat on the edge of her bed. "Where do you want us to start?"

"How about the beginning?" Jay asked sarcastically, getting a hit from Cole. "Ow! What?"

Talynn sighed. "The beginning…that's not the best place." She pulled her hair away from her eyes. "The best place to begin would be to tell you our names. Our full names."

Soula looked away from Zane. "My full name is Lady Soulika Alessandra Litaka Evansa. Daughter of the Dark Lord Soul Evansa and Light Lady Malaya of the Dark One Realm." She glanced over at her friend. "Kyna's full name is Lady Kylina Corazana Elise Sohmasi. Daughter of the Dark Lord Kyotsu Sohmasi and Light Lady Torah of the Dark One Realm. And Tal…"

Talynn couldn't meet Cole's eyes. But she had to if she was ever going to get her title out of her mouth. When they did meet though, she could tell he didn't like where this was going. But she had no choice.

She sighed. "I am Princess Tallianna Amoré Nicolette Kasuki. Third child of King Talazon-the King of Shadows, and Queen Amirah-the Princess of Life. Younger sibling to Heir Prince Parker Alvonté Cartoros Kasuki and Prince Alexandros Ritaldi Kasuki. Now…the sole survivor of the royal family of the Dark and Light One Realms."

Cole looked away from her. 'A princess?' he thought. 'She's a princess?'

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Lloyd asked, being the first one to come out of the state of shock everyone else was in. "We could've protected you."

"That is not the way we were taught." Soula replied, drawing a shuriken from her pocket. "Our people did not let their well-being go into the hands of one not like them. We've taken care of eachother since the fire, as we are the only ones of our kind."

"Only…but I thought-"

"We're not being's of the Darkness nor are we children of the Light like you." Talynn said, summoning her scythe. "We are Dark Lights. Beings of Darkness born as children of the Light." She looked away from them all. "Freaks that are not supposed to exist."

"That is not true." Wu said, coming beside Talynn. "Everything deserves life. You girls are no acceptation."

"Tell that to the Shadow Hunter!" Talynn said, shooting to her feet. "If it weren't for us our families would be alive right now! And our dragons…"

She couldn't finish the thought. It would just replay that night in her mind.

But it was too late.

Suddenly the room shifted, making everyone hop to their feet as Talynn clutched her head in pain.

"Now you've done it!" Soula exclaimed, kneeling down to Talynn as she glared at the boys. "Tal you gotta stop this!"

"I…I can't!" Talynn screamed, curling into a ball. "I can't control him!"

Before anyone could respond, a deafening roar echoed through the sky.

They were in a world beyond reason.

* * *

 _ **Hey guys! Well, chapter 12 is up. Now here's what's going on. I've got this wicked idea for a Ninjago/Fairy Tail Nutcracker thing! For now the identities of Clara and the Nutcracker are remaining a secret, but I can't decide who would make a better Mouse King. That's where I need help. You help me decide between Pythor and Master Chen. I need it by December 1st. Bye!**_


	13. How Could I Tell You

The terrain around them was completely dark. From the dirt under their feet to the night sky-which was being illuminated by a fading moon. In the distance, a tall medieval palace stood with light's on in every window. And between it and them…was a war.

"What in the -" Lloyd looked around. "Where are we?"

"The Land of Shadows, in the year of retribution, about eighteen years ago give or take." Soula said getting to her feet. "Why he brought us here, I just don't know." She brushed off her skirt. "Honestly, he may be a gentlemen but that dragon is so stubborn just like she is. If could just-"

"What are you talking about?!" Jay asked freaking out. "Why are we here?! And what dragon?! I don't see a dragon! Not even a-"

He was cut off by a roar not too far off.

"That answer your question?" She asked, squatting down beside Talynn. "Any idea why he's showing us this?"

Talynn sat up briefly before falling again. "No clue." She stated as she let herself be picked up by Cole. "My guess is he wants us to see something. Or rather," she looked around at them. "Have the rest of you see something."

"See what?" Kai asked curiously. "And why here? Why now?"

Neither girl would meet his eyes.

Zane figured it out first. "This is the land from which you three are from, isn't it?"

Soula met his for a moment, then looked away again.

"Did you know about this Sensei?" Lloyd asked as he helped put Kyna on Kai's back.

The old man nodded. "I knew. And believe me; I was wary of taking children that were born in such a dark place. But I saw a light in them. A light that was almost extinguished in Kyna today."

Wu stepped closer to the girl on Kai's back, moving her bangs away from her face like a father would his child. "Soula, you must guide us through the battlefield. I have a feeling that whatever Talynn's dragon wishes to show us, is on the other side."

"As you wish Sensei." She said bowing. "Everyone stick close. I don't wanna have to look for you in this maze of bodies."

"Why are they fighting anyway?" Nya asked as they made their way down the hill.

Soula sighed. "It's a long story."

"Well from the way I see it," Cole began as he moved Talynn to his back so he could climb down. "You owe us an explanation anyway."

"They're right Soula." Talynn said gripping onto Cole's shirt. "It started before our parents married. No one was sure if it would even be possible for a Dark One and a Light One to have kids. So they just ignored each other completely. That is…until our parents met."

"They all told us that for some reason they felt drawn to each other." Soula continued, jumping onto the ground below. "Like something was telling them that they belonged together. It was tolerated until news got out that we were gonna be born."

"What does three girls being born have to do with anything?" Kai asked, genuinely confused.

"Well legend says that if girls were born to beings of darkness and light under a certain eclipse, they'd have the ability to control dragons." Talynn said as Cole landed on the ground.

He looked at her curiously. "You can do that?"

"In a way we could, but not anymore." She looked away. "We lost the ability a long time ago."

Cole couldn't be mad at her. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't. He knew what it felt like to be treated different because of your background. The moment someone found out he didn't have a mom, they started to feel sorry and treat him in a way he didn't want.

She grew up without her birth parents and didn't want to be reminded of what she lost; didn't want the title she was born into. So why was whoever it was showing this?

"Is the moon above us the same eclipse you mentioned?" Zane asked looking up.

"Yes." Soula said standing beside him. "In our language, it's called the 'Mahate de la Luna Draco'. But in English, it translates to the 'Eclipse of Dragon Hearts.' It only happens every thousand years in each realm."

"Interesting." The nindroid said, looking at her. "And what does this have to do with Dragons?"

"Well…it's said that it's only during this eclipse that a Dragon's Blessed can be born."

"A Blessed huh?" Kai thought aloud. "That sounds familiar."

"What's a Blessed?" Jay asked.

"It's the one that keeps the dragon sane; sort of like a girlfriend." Talynn explained, letting herself off of Cole and sitting on the ground again. "The difference is…well, I'll let you figure that out when we get there."

"You know where we're going?" Nya asked.

Talynn nodded. "We're headed straight for the center of the battlefield, then to the palace."

"The palace I get." Jay said, looking at the dark towers in the distance. "But the center of the battlefield? That doesn't-"

Talynn snapped her fingers.

The next instant, the shadows had teleported them to the center of the battlefield, where three dragons-red on the right, black in the center, silverish white on the left-stood taking the enemy head on.

"Ah!" Jay exclaimed, jumping back. "Those guys are bigger than ours when they grew up!"

"That's because yours were altered by your world's atmosphere." Soula said, looking directly at the white dragon. "These magnificent creatures were never touched by anything. The children of Dracco and true warriors in battle."

"Warriors?" Nya said questioningly. "Uh, not to be rude, but to be a warrior, don't you have to be able to wield a weapon?"

Talynn just gave a small smile. "Just sit down and watch Nya. You'll understand in a minute."

Nya looked at her brother, who just gave her a confused look and shrugged. He just slowly lowered himself and Kyna to the ground. The others sat in silence for a bit. All three dragons seemed to be holding their own well. Then a bigger shadow-one that seemed larger than the red dragon- was seeking up behind the black one. The white one barely caught it in time.

"Brother, behind you!" The creature called out in a gravelly voice close to Zane's. Said dragon began to glow silver and shrink down to a human size. This surprised the ninja, sensei, and samurai, while the two conscious kunoichi just gave each other a look. Then Soula sighed.

"Everyone, say hello to the dragon of Dark Ice, Zandor."

This made Zane's eyes widen as the dragon turned human landed a blow on the creature with a pair of ice shurikens. Said young man looked exactly like he did when his body wasn't fully titanium. From the pale blonde hair to his icy blue eyes-though they were more reptilian than human-to pretty much everything else. The only key differences besides his eyes were the silverish blue markings all over what he could see of his skin, the grey bandana tied around his head-covering the top of his hair, and the white and silver warrior gi with a moon and falcon crest on the back.

"They can talk?!" Jay exclaimed as the others were slack-jawed at the dragon.

"Only in our language-which you can only understand if Talynn's dragon wants you to." Soula said, pulling Jay back into a sitting position. "Now shush."

"Many thanks brother." The black dragon said, tossing another enemy off of him. "I'd rather not die tonight."

"And who would?" The red dragon asked, whipping his tail at another who tried to attack from behind. "How much longer is it until the height of the eclipse?"

"Not long." Zandor said, looking up at the moon, punching a guy in the face. "Roughly five-six minutes."

At these words, the other two dragons transformed into human forms.

"The red one is the dragon of the Dark Flame, Kashton." Soula said, looking at Kyna as she stirred a bit. "And the black one…"

Talynn put her chin on her knees. "The black one is the dragon of Shadow and Earth. The eldest son of the dragon king Draco; Colatos.

The red and black ninja looked between each other, then back at the battlefield.

The red dragon revealed himself to be a brunette with spikey hair; his bangs barely hiding a thin red fabric over his forehead. His amber eyes were brighter than Kai's, but held the same amount of passion. He wore a red version of what Zandor was wearing, except it had a sun and tiger crest. And the red markings on his arms were a bit thinner than Zandor's.

It was Colatos who really surprised them.

He was in every way there could be Cole. From the muscle mass, to the black hair, even his dark brown eyes-which were more human than the other two. The gi he wore was black with the sleeves torn off. And on the back was a wolf in mid-howl, with the outline of a broken heart around it. But the markings didn't just go to his arms and legs, they also extended to his face. Making him seem demonic in a sense.

"I suggest we take the king's route if we're going to make it on time." Zandor suggested, releasing the ice shurikens, causing them to disappear. "Talazon would be cross if we missed this occasion."

The other two nodded, and all at once, they disappeared.

"Okay," Lloyd said, getting up. "You two have explaining to do."

"Not until Talynn's dragon has shown all that needs to be shown." Soula said, getting to her feet as well. "And that usually doesn't happen until Talynn passes out."

"So you know where they're going?" Cole asked Talynn, helping her back up again.

"Vaguely." Talynn responded, her voice getting hoarse. "They're going to see _mes parents de naissance_ ; my mother and father."

"Wait a sec." Kai said, getting to his feet slowly. "If this is your world, and that eclipse only happens every thousand years, and this was eighteen years ago…" His eyes widened. "This was the night you three were born isn't it?"

Soula nodded. Then with a snap of her fingers, they were in the castle.

"Since when do you control the story?" Jay asked getting up.

"Since Talynn doesn't like coming back here a lot more than I do." Soula said, grabbing her friend's hand. Her skin was starting to turn chalky; she couldn't take much more of this. "Look."

All turned to see three males in a hallway. Their faces may have been shrouded by shadow, but the glowing red eyes were a dead giveaway at who they were; the girls' fathers.

A scream came from the door leading to the other room.

"I can't take it anymore!" The male on the right said, jumping to his feet. "Torah should've delivered that baby by now."

"Calm down Kyostu." The man on the left said, calmly getting to his feet, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Your anger isn't going to make this any easier on your wife."

"And you would know that how you uncaring, emotionless-"

The man still sitting banged down his staff, startling the unseen guests.

Both men turned to him.

Talynn just gave a small smile. "Daddy."

"That's your dad?" Jay asked, backing away slowly, only to be caught by Wu.

"Don't be alarmed. He can't hurt you." Wu said, watching the man as he rose slowly. "We are but a mist here. And either way, King Talazon cannot attack, unless he, his loved ones, or his people are attacked."

"And I'm guessing the guy who shot up first is Kyna's father?" Kai inquired.

"Good guess." The old man replied. "Now shush. The king is up to something."

The king himself rose from the shadows. His form wasn't one that could be naturally called human; but in held some human aspects. Behind his seat, was a mural; a man made of shadow, and a woman made of light, surrounding them were seven gemstones.

Nya looked at it curiously. "What's that about?"

Talynn lost her smile. "It symbolizes my parents; the last battle they fought against an even greater darkness than my father."

"It took them two lifetimes," Soula said, watching the king get closer to the door that held his queen. "But they accomplished much more than anyone ever dreamed."

Before anyone could make a comment, the dragons entered in a rush.

"Did we miss it?" Kashton asked, catching his breath a bit.

"Not yet." Soul said. "The eclipse shall hit any second now."

"How are things on the battlefield?" Kyostu asked, picking up the red, silver, and black masks beside him.

"It is over for now, my lord." Zandor replied, pulling on the silver mask. "Tonight is won; but the battles ahead remain undecided."

As the others conversed, the two leaders met side by side at the door. Colatos was silent for a time, then began to speak.

"How are you holding up my lord?"

The older man chuckled a bit before replying in a calm voice. "In all honesty young prince, I've never felt more worried in this life; let alone my other." He put his hand on the door. "Mirah was my world then, she is my world now, and until the day that my very consciousness fades, she always will be."

Colatos gave him a confused look, then turned back to the door, tying on his mask. "She must mean a lot to you then, if you're willing to risk everything."

"Just you wait young earth dragon," the older said, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder. "just you wait. One day you're thinking battle strategies, the next you're thinking what to do to her next."

The dragon gave him a disgusted look.

"Was your dad really like that?" Lloyd asked Talynn, who was mid-doze.

The tannette shook herself awake. "No, dad's just messing with him. Kinda like how you guys mess with Jay and Nya; give 'em a little grief, and they stop talking about their love-life."

Both samurai and lightning ninja blushed a bit at that one.

"You have some twisted thoughts your highness." Colatos said, brushing the king's shoulder off. "And I can assure you, that won't happen to me until she's old enough to understand."

"You can assure me all you want." Talazon said as Colatos went to sit down on a bench. "But I'm telling you, the moment you lay eyes on her you'll be challenging me for the right."

"'The right?'" Zane gave Soula a confused look.

"It's basically how males ask for the father's blessing. From what I understand, it's a battle to near death. All types of weapons allowed, any tricks. Basically, it's a human version of a slither pit."

"We'll take your word on it Tal." Kashton said, slinging his arm around his brother, pulling down his mask. "Countdown Zan?"

"Ten seconds." The ice dragon replied. "Watch the moon."

All looked up to see the moon become covered in what seemed to be thousands of dragons. Some were flying, some were crawling. But all were avoiding the center. Then, they began to circle in.

Five…

Black, silver, red, and green ribbons began to surround it.

Four…

They started taking shape.

Three…

Four animals began to form.

Two…

A black wolf, a silver snow falcon, a red tiger, and a green panther stared back at them.

One…

A baby's cry came from the other room.

* * *

(Zane's P.O.V.)

It was at that moment that Talynn passed out. The image began to fade, and we returned to the girl's room on the bounty. Soula would not meet my eyes, but could not understand why.

"That's it?" Kai asked, looking down at the passed out Talynn. "That's what he wanted to show us?"

"Colatos is a mysterious dragon." Soula said, walking towards the door. "He's revealed all he can through her."

"Soula…" Nya walked towards her. "Are you-?"

"I need to be alone." The white haired beauty said, running out the door.

"Soulika!" Sensei called after her. "Soulika come back here!"

"Stop…" A quiet voice said from back in the room.

All turned to see Kyna semiconscious as Kai helped her sit up.

"You…must…stop…her…" the redhead said weakly. "The…the hunters…they…will…catch her…if she's…left alone."

"Kyna, you have to tell us." Kai said, holding her head up to meet his eyes. "Who are the Shadow Hunters? And what do they want with you three?"

"The hunters…are the ones…who started the fire…what they want…is absolute power…" She shook her head a bit to get some clarity. "They want…the darkness to have…absolute control of…the realms. To do that…they need all…of Draco's sons…Blessed. To have the Blessed…is to have…the dragons. They…they already have…one of us."

"You mean there's another one?" Lloyd asked.

Kyna nodded. "Sensei knew her. We…lost her…a day before we came… here. Something…pulled us here…we went along…with it." She pulled up her right sleeve, revealing a red dragon tattoo. And it was glowing. "This…has lead me to believe…that we are here…for a reason." She meets Kai's eyes. "And what you did…this afternoon confirms it."

"Confirms what?" Jay asks.

"That Kai, Cole, and Zane have been having the dreams." Talynn said, sitting up from the floor. "We couldn't tell you what we suspected because you would think we're looney."

"Wait…" Cole said, glaring at her. "You knew?"

"I'd made a guess." Talynn said, pulling off her long-sleeved shirt, revealing a black kami underneath, along with a black dragon whose tail seemed to be wrapping itself around her neck. In its claw, was a purple rose. "The rose showed up last night after our talk; when I told you about my best friend." Her hands went to the dragon's face. "The sister we lost." Her head rose up. "I'm not about to let them get another of us."

"Tallianna, it's time to stop beating around the bush." Sensei said, giving her a stern look. "Tell them what the dreams mean."

She gave him a defying look, but gave in.

"The dreams mean that within the three of you…are what's left of our dragons." Talynn said, looking away. "They're the reason Cole can't stay mad at me, Kai's being extremely careful with Kyna, and Zane…" She looked directly at me. "You want to go after her."

I didn't realize it, but she was right. Something was pulling me towards Soulika. I even knew where she was.

She was sitting at the base of the statue the others left when I'd died before.

"Why would you keep this from us?" Cole asked, getting angrier by the second.

"How could I tell you that you were his reincarnation without sounding like a lunatic? That I'd known you since I was born? That you look, sound, and act like him? Tell me, would you've believed me?"

The black ninja just stared at her in shock.

"I thought not." Talynn said running out the door. "Don't even think of following me!"

"Tal!" Cole said, chasing after her.

"Didn't she just say don't follow her?" Jay asked, watching the two black ninja head upstairs.

Wu sighed. "I'd thought Talynn had outgrown these tendencies."

Kyna gave a small laugh. "Come on Wu…You know us…better than that." She tried to stand and failed. "Tal's…got her mother's…rebellious spirit. Soula's…got her mother's determination…and denial is the…only way they…deal with things."

From what I could see, it was hurting Kai to see her like this. Drained, tired. She could break at any moment.

Break…why did that sound so familiar?


	14. The Real Me

(Talynn's P.O.V.)

Well, I guess the secrets are out. Secrets I thought that were locked away for the rest of eternity.

As I run through the city trying to lose Cole, I think about the truths that'd been revealed tonight.

1\. Kyna, Soula, and I aren't Human.

We never claimed to be human, but that doesn't help out in the long run I guess. Especially when you're a Dark-Light. Always sensitive to certain things. Like if you're in too much darkness, it makes you irritated and irrational. Or if you have too much light you come off as rather perky and annoying. For me, I'm a bit sensitive to light in my eyes. That's why I wear shades all the time. Kyna's skin gets blotchy if she stays outside to long, so she wears her father's old juzu beads to keep it from happening. As for Soula, she's always affected by temperature change pretty easily. Even with the slightest breeze, she can get freezing cold. And if she gets too much sun, it makes her sick. So her dad's old pin remade into a hairpin takes care of that.

2\. I'm a Princess.

Yes I was born into royalty. But that doesn't mean I'm a snotty brat or a D.I.D. (Damsel In Distress) either. I prefer doing things my way; not some stuck-up courts way. And I haven't really had any use for my title in over a decade. The only use it has now is driving me crazy by making everyone act different around me.

3\. Cole, Zane, and Kai are the reincarnations of three of the four Sons of Draco

Okay that one needs a little explaining. But I'm only going off from what my two and a half year-old mind remembers so bear with me. From what I remember, when a dragon dies, they are sent to a different place; a place where there soul is reborn as a human. They have to earn their wings again to become what they once were.

That place just happens to be Ninjago. And time here goes a little faster than it does where I come from. That's how the boys are older than us. Frankly, it's just confusing.

Either way, I'd hoped that at least these secrets would stay that-a secret. But the celestials seem to be against me tonight.

* * *

(Cole's P.O.V.)

I know as a ninja, you're required to be stealthy, fast, and always moving. But what Talynn has been doing for the last half-hour is insane.

I've almost lost track of her about five times, barely catching up to her only to have her evade me.

Just like when she was a toddler.

I'm not saying I believe in this whole reincarnation thing, but the memories are Colatos', so I better use them to my advantage.

…And I've lost her again.

Seriously she can only jump from shadow to shadow, how did she get so fast?

"I see you're baffled by all this." A male voice said behind me.

I turn to see nobody there.

"But asking Tallie even more questions isn't gonna help." The voice is to the right of me. "You know how she gets. The more you ask…"

"The more she draws back." I finish, still trying to find the speaker. "How'd you know-wait, how did I know that?"

The voice laughed. "Now that everything's out in the open, the memories of the dragon inside of you are becoming clearer. And as the memories become clearer, so does the full extent of your powers. Just like Tallie is rediscovering herself."

That's when it hit me. Only one other person besides Colatos ever called Talynn 'Tallie'.

"Why don't you show yourself King Talazon?" I ask, a little unsure if I'm right. I mean the guy's been dead for over a decade.

That's when a greenish black mist formed around me. It swirled around my ankles, circled my body, and went behind me to a shade of a tree. I had to look hard, but there he was, standing on a branch. The King of the Dark Realm, Talazon Kasuki.

He wasn't all there though. Just a shadowy figure with inhuman ruby red eyes; the same eyes all the girls had.

"You just gonna stare all night Earth-Boy?" The figure-Talazon asked. "or are you gonna go after Tallie?" he disappeared and reappeared right behind me. "'Cause if you are, you're running outta time."

I turned to face him, trying to see the man I saw only a while ago. But he wasn't there. The only thing left was a hard man who looked like he'd been to hell and back.

"Why would I be running out of time?" I ask, backing away slowly.

He pointed behind me, causing me to turn around.

Somehow I'd been transported from the north end of the park to the south where Zane's memorial statue was. Sitting at his feet, was Soula; her knees up to her chest as tears peeked out.

Talynn popped out of the shadow, trying not to shake. The atmosphere was freezing since Soula was creating her own frost. But she fought against it and sat down next to her fellow Dark Light.

"You all right Souli-chan?" The tannette asked, pulling on her shirt again.

"I wasn't ready for this." Soula stated, leaning up against the statue, looking up at Zane's memorial. "I didn't think it would ever happen; him being back. I mean, yeah we'd hoped for years, but for it to actually happen I…" She shook her head. "I can't go through it again. I won't-"

Talynn grabbed Soula by the shoulders. "It won't. Happen. Again. I refuse to let it happen! I won't let what we went through happen to you or me or anyone else ever again!"

"And how will you stop it?!" Soula threw Talynn's hand off of her. "We couldn't stop it and we had dragons on our side!"

"What're they arguing about?" I asked the shadow as the girls continued to fight.

"Soula's reminding Talynn that it was darkness-pure untamed darkness-that took everything they loved away." Talazon stated, watching his daughter. "Though I ruled the dark realm, there were those who were against me marrying and mating with Amirah."

"Well what's wrong with that?"

He gave me a harsh look. "Amirah was the Princess of Life. Anything she touched was filled with the love she carried and the power she held." He chuckled for a moment. "When I first saw her I thought she would be terrified of me since I brought death and illness wherever I went. But instead, she just smiled and waved. That was the first kindness shown to me in a long time."

"So when did you decide to go out with her?" I asked, glancing over at the girls. Their talk had remained vocal, but it could escalate at any given moment.

"Not until we'd known eachother for a year did I even attempt to touch her, let alone court her." The spirit said, shooting himself up into a tree above us. "I was afraid that if she so much as breathed on me I'd cease to exist. But my fears weren't even needed. She was born for me as I was created for her." His eyes turned dark. "But others didn't see it that way. They put up with me mating with her, even having sons. But a daughter?" He looked to his child, who's eyes were turning darker by the second. "A daughter was out of the question. Just because of some stupid old rotten legend-"

"Legend?" I climbed up to him. "What legend?"

He calmed slowly. Crimson eyes returning to ruby. "There is a prophecy, stating that if the King of Shadows and the Princess of Life were to ever have a daughter, she'd be able to destroy the true evil that haunts the realms. Most of my people didn't like that. Especially when you showed up."

"Me?" Now I was confused. "What did Colatos do?"

He gave me a confused look. "You seriously don't remember?"

"I only know things about Colatos' life with Talynn, not before or after." I stated, watching as the girls started throwing punches. "Should I be stopping them?"

"Nah, Let 'em duke it out for a bit."

"But you said I was running out of time."

He walked out into the open air. "So I did. But not for the reason you think."

He pointed up above us, but I couldn't see anything because of the branches around me. So I just kept climbing higher. Then I saw what he was pointing at.

It was the dragon constellation, Draco.

When I was growing up, that constellation was the only thing I liked about dragons. Sure the old myths told that it was to represent the dragon Landon, but I believed that there was more to the story. That there was actually something that constellation was hiding.

Talazon stood beside me again. "The dragons were all banished decades ago-save for your own and the parents of Storm. Draco wanted to test the limits of his boundaries after being stuck up there for so long. So he sent his four sons out into the beyond. Three of them landed in my realm just after Tallianna was conceived." He looked at me. "One of them was you."

My head was pounding, my sight was getting bleary. What's going on?

"When I asked you why you didn't go where your father intended, you said you felt a pull to my world. I didn't understand until Amirah told me she was pregnant." He was staring me in the eye now. "You felt a pull from Tallie."

The pounding was getting louder.

"She was calling you to protect her. To make sure what was to happen wouldn't. The beginning has, but not the end." He grabbed me by the shoulders. "Do not let them kill her. If they do, all is lost. Amirah and I will not rest in peace until we are assured she's safe. You understand me Earth-Boy?"

Everything faded black.

* * *

(Talynn's P.O.V.)

"Is that all you got?" Soula asked, ducking a left hook. "I've seen toddler's fight better."

My eyes glowed with hate. "You better hope I don't land a hit you whiney, self-loathing-"

"AAAHHH!"

I knew that scream. I'd heard it every time I placed my hand on my dragon mark. It'd haunted me ever since the night of the fire.

"Cole!" I turned around and ran towards the trees.

"How'd he find us?" Soula asked, running after me. "You warned him not to follow you."

'He never listens.' I think to myself. 'He didn't listen that night and he isn't listening now.'

When I found Cole, he was laying on the ground with a few branches around him. It didn't look like he was bleeding, but I couldn't be sure. His heartbeat was low, but it was there.

Soula knelt beside me. "Tal…"

I kept my eyes on Cole. "Keep back."

As I close my eyes, I feel the darkness inside me fester and grow. But while it's rising, I also feel the power of life race through my veins. Though I don't use it often, it still comforts me that my powers haven't completely gone to the darkness. I look down at Cole's face. His heartbeat sounds weaker.

"Cole." I put my hand over his heart. "If you live, I'll tell you everything. I'll tell you all about Colatos and his mission. I'll even show you the real me. Just stay." My aura grows stronger. "Please just stay!"

My power pulses out of my body. I can hear the wind howling as it picks up my hair. A dragon's roar comes from the stars above us.

I look up at the Draco constellation. There were times where those stars comforted me, there were also times they'd scared me. Right now was one of those times. A dragon's tail struck at my waist.

That's all I remember before blacking out.

* * *

(Cole's P.O.V.)

My head was pounding when I felt myself wake up. It hadn't hurt this bad since I was a child. As I raise my head I find myself in the infirmary. As I rise slowly, I notice Jay and Nya asleep in the chairs not far from the door, and Wu's sitting on the floor drinking tea.

"Sensei?"

My teacher looked at me. "It's about time one of you woke up." He said, getting up. "You and Talynn have been unconscious for two days now. And all Soula would tell us is that Talazon talked to you and Draco lashed out at Talynn."

That got my attention. I sit up fast. "Draco did wha- ah!" I grab my head as it pounds.

Wu steadies me as I deal with the pain. "You should rest."

I swing my legs over the side. "Not until I see Talynn."

"Cole-"

"Don't try to stop me Sensei." I said with more force then I meant to. "I need to see she's okay."

Sensei regarded my expression, and then sighed. "What you will see may shock you. But, if you insist."

He helped me to the floor and steadily led me to the girls room. Kai was asleep sitting up against Kyna's bed while Kyna herself laid on her side. Zane slept in a chair by Soula's bed while Soula herself laid on the floor. Talynn's bed had the curtains closed.

As Wu, pulled them back, I looked in awe.

Talynn's once pure tan hair was streaked with purple highlights. Her skin was covered in purple vine-like marks, and across her chest, was the dragon mark constantly moving.

I stood next to the bedpost, afraid to touch her, let alone try to wake her. I saw the little girl I'd seen so many times in my dreams.

It was Tallie. My Tallie.

* * *

 _ **I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long. It's just everything has been a little crazy for me in the last year. I'm still writing, it's just gonna take a bit for me to update every now and again. I'll update the other stories soon.**_

 _ **Oh, and I've changed my name because I just don't feel like ShadowsRosella anymore. Now, I'm EternityBlackRose. Rose for short.  
**_


	15. A Dragon's Deal

(No One's P.O.V.)

Talynn's head pounded as she returned to the world of the living. She barely remembered what happened before she passed out, but she knew that she felt like she'd been tossed like a rag doll.

"Talynn." A voice said, making her head hurt more. "Talynn can you hear me?"

"Too loud." She said, having a hard time opening her eyes. She reached for her shades as they cracked open, then noticed the vine-like markings all over them.

Her eyes popped open, unable to believe what she was seeing. But in her hurry to get up, her body was wracked with pain. She grabbed her arm and lay back down, biting her lip in agony. A pair of hands helped sit her up, trying not to cause her anymore pain.

"Here." The figure said, placing her shades on her face. Talynn relaxed, then opened her eyes to see her fellow black ninja sitting beside her.

"Cole," She said with a relived smile, giving him a sideways hug. "You gave me quite a scare last night."

Cole chuckled nervously, pulling away as gently as he could. "It was actually two nights ago when…well everything happened."

"Two nights!" Talynn exclaimed, shifting again. Her body screamed in pain, and she felt the dragon move from its spot on her shoulder to wherever the pain came from. "That explains how this could happen."

"What did happen?" He asked curiously. "I mean, you look pretty nice like this. Not that you didn't look nice before it's just, this seems more…you."

"That's because it is her." Soula said with a yawn, sitting up from the floor. "Or rather, what she truly looks like."

"Supposed to?"

Soula closed her eyes for a few moments, then opened them again, revealing an emerald green iris. Frost-like designs spread around her eyes to her cheeks and down her face, silver streaks appeared in her snow white hair, and her dragon appeared from under her short sleeve shirt to fly down the length of her arm.

"Our true selves are quite frightful." She stated, transforming back. "So we hide them. But I guess Draco felt Talynn had been hiding long enough."

"Draco?" Talynn asked, a bit confused.

"I guess it's story time." Soula sat up straight. "It started after Draco hit you with his tail…"

* * *

(Soula's P.O.V)

-Two Nights Ago-

"Tallianna!" I yelled, watching Talynn go flying away from Cole and crash into a nearby tree. Her body crumbled on impact, making her pass out.

Now the one that had sent her flying, I'd only ever seen as a constellation or stories about. But seeing him in real life-or as real as he could get-was a whole other story entirely.

Draco was twice the size that Colatos was when he was alive having black scales with streaks of red, silver, green, blue, and gold. His eyes were a coppery orange that seemed to glow with rage; rage that seemed centered towards me and Talynn.

 _'You insolent child!'_ The dragon roared in my head _'How dare you interfere with my sons again!'_

I could feel my eyes turn an icy blue Anger rose through my body. "Interfere? Interfere?! You've been interfering with our lives since the day were conceived!" Ice wrapped itself around my shaking fists as I stared down one of the most terrifying beings in the universe. "We're not the ones who went and made Moreisha mad!"

The dragon growled at me in anger and disgust. _'Don't you dare mention that sorceress to me Halfling!'_

"Aren't you insulting your sons when you call someone that?" I asked, beginning to show my smart-alecky self. "After all," I drew my sais from the back of my belt, and took a defensive stance. "That's what they are!"

He stared at me with hate and discontent; I glared back at him with anger. My blood was boiling mad. Here this great being was, blaming the Blessed for what happened so long ago when in reality, it was him who stood by and did nothing when his sons needed him most.

 _'I can hear your thoughts little icicle.'_ Draco stated, circling me. _'I may have been the one who stood by when all that happened, but at least…'_ He swung his tail at me. ' _I wasn't the one who caused it!'_

I braced myself for impact when something shoved me out of the way. Looking up, I saw the titanium ninja holding the king of the dragon's tail back.

"Zane!"

"Stay back Soula!" Zane said through gritted teeth. "I can't hold this creature back for very long!"

 _'Creature!'_ Draco yelled back angrily. _'I am Draco! King of the Dragons, Lord of Earth! Master of-'_

"Master of rambling on and on and on." Kyna said, hanging onto Kai for support. "We get it. You're big and tough. No one in the Celestial Realm can beat you. Sheesh."

I didn't notice when the others arrived, but I could feel someone helping me up. I looked behind me to see Wu pulling at my arm, Lloyd taking Talynn in his arms, and Jay and Nya trying to support Cole.

* * *

(No One's P.O.V.)

"Are you all right Soulika?" Wu asked, brushing some of the dirt off Soula's face.

"Yes Sensei." She replied, pulling away from him.

"So this is the dragons' father?" Kai asked giving the big reptile a once over. "I actually expected something bigger."

Draco glared towards Kai, but was surprised at what he saw. Then he looked around him, then down at the ninja still holding his tail. It couldn't be what he thought could it?

Then he met the old teacher's eyes, and the answers came to him.

He pulled his tail away from Zane, looking around him with a chuckle. _'So, this is what that dang Sorceress meant all those millennia ago.'_

"Sorceress?" Lloyd asked, holding Talynn bridal style. "What's he talking about?"

Draco gave the two conscious Blessed a strange look. _'You haven't told them?'_

"We weren't sure it was them until about an hour ago." Kyna said, leaning against a tree. "And even before that, it's kinda hard to say what we are and who they may be." She looked towards the dragon with a half-hearted glare. "I know you want everything to go back to the way it was before all this, but it can't happen. All you or any of us can do is be prepared for the worse."

The dragon took the young one's words and thought about them carefully. She was right, but at the same time wrong. He could do more. In fact, that's what he planned on doing.

 _'Very well.'_ Draco replied, tucking his wings into his side. _'But I'm not leaving without giving you all something in return.'_

Kai drew his sword, getting between the dragon and everyone else. Fire seemed to light up his eyes.

 _'It seems this one doesn't need help awakening his inner dragon.'_ Draco laughed. _'But the rest of you are in sore need of it!'_

The Destiny's Bounty's crew struggled to stay on their feet as the ground shook and swayed. Kyna, Soula, and Talynn's skin began to glow. The dragon's that'd been on their shoulders began to move off of them and become a great aura of power. Then it went flying into Kai, Zane, and Cole.

"What're you doing to them?" Nya yelled over the wind.

 _'I'm awakening my sons! If you wish to defeat the darkness, you'll need to awaken the dragons inside! But heed my warning, without all of my sons you won't defeat anything. Darkness will rise, and those who are lost to it will stay lost. You will find the fourth Blessed in Fiore. And with her you will find my youngest son, Lysander.'_

"Isn't the fourth Blessed already under the Shadow Hunters control?" Jay asked, looking at the dragon nervously.

 _'Indeed she is. But she's not lost. Bring her back through her family, her friends, and her dragon. The girls will tell you everything when they feel it's safe.'_ Draco looked towards Wu. _'Be careful Spinjitsu master. You have some secrets of your own to share.'_

* * *

-Present Day-

"And that pretty much brings us back up to now." Jay stated, looking over the room. The others had woken up some time ago, and now everyone was on the main deck of the ship, trying to make sense of Draco's warning.

"So we know there's some kind of sorceress to this story." Lloyd said, looking over at the girls.

Kyna nodded. "Moreisha. She was the first human to ever walk in the celestial plain."

"She was also Colatos, Zandor, Kashton, and Lysander's mother." Soula stated, rubbing her arm. "I don't know how she carried all four of them, but she did."

"So, why'd she curse them?" Nya asked.

"Technically, it wasn't them she cursed." Talynn stated, adjusting her shades. "She cursed Draco because she found out about him have a son that wasn't hers."

"Meaning he cheated on her." Cole deduced.

"Pretty much yeah."

"So what was the curse?"

Talynn rubbed her forehead slowly. "I remember it being something about the unknown son, and somehow it affected the others. The elder three landed in our realm, Lysander landed in another, and the other brother landed in an unknown realm. No one's been able to find him."

"Well from the sound of it," Nya said, setting down a map. "We're gonna have to find him. Draco said all of his sons were needed to combat the darkness."

"I'm a bit more interested in what Draco said about you Sensei." Kai said, looking at their teacher. "'Secrets that need to be revealed' ring a bell?"

The old master sighed. "There's some things I have kept from all of you." He looked towards the girls. "And it involves your parents."

They all looked at each other, then back at their teacher.

"When my father-the first Spinjitsu Master-was alive, he distributed his powers across the known realm. Creating Ninjago and the Elemental masters."

"We know that much." Nya said, looking at the maps again.

"But do you know who gave them to him?"

They all looked confused at this question.

"It was Talynn's mother who bestowed them."

Talynn shifted her shades down, surprised by this answer. "My mother? But she was an earth elemental."

"Nature technically. And you're right she was, but she also held life in her hand. She could bestow it on whatever and whomever she pleased. That's how she saved the dragon's lives that night. And how she got Lysander to come get you."

"So you've seen him?" Cole asked confused.

Wu sighed. "Yes. But only as he was doing the last of Amirah's instructions. Which were to get Tallianna to Fiore and wait for those she had chosen to take care of her child."

"So that's what happened." Talynn said, rubbing her head again. "I knew something happened to however was taking care of me."

"Well wherever this Fiore is, it's not on my map." Nya said, pushing the paper away.

"That's because Fiore is a country in another dimension." Kyna stated dryly, picking at her bracelet again. "We know the way, but I'm warning you. Fiore's nothing like Ninjago. Over half the continent is filled with people who have powers which they call magic. And almost all them belong in a guild."

"A guild?" Zane asked curiously.

"It's like a clan." Soula stated. "And it's filled to the brim with different types of people and magic. It's also where they can get jobs that can make their magic stronger."

"Are you guys in a guild?" Nya asked curiously.

"The strongest one for eleven years running."

"So how do we get there?" Jay asked getting to the helm.

Talynn, Soula, and Kyna looked at each other from the corners of their eyes and nodded. They then stood up-Talynn needing help still-and linked arms.

The wind around the ship picked up as they began to hum an ancient chant. While the younger ninja held onto something, their old master watched as they preformed this feat as naturally as they did when they were children.

From the outside, it looked like the ship was disappearing into thin air. Thunder clashed, and in an instant, the ship, and everyone on it were gone.

* * *

A lone figure sat in a dark and gloomy place. Purple eyes glowed in the dark, staring at a crystal orb with a picture of a ship flying through the air and disappearing.

"So, you think you're ready to face me?" the figure asked rhetorically, setting the orb down. A zap of energy destroyed it, making glass fly everywhere. "We shall see my sisters." A smile went across their face, seeming to make the room even darker. "We shall see. But it won't be bringing the good times back.

 _ **And that's the end of this book. I hope you'll read the next book in this series, A Blessed's Curse. As for now, I'll give you time to guess what's gonna happen next**_


End file.
